


Flightrising

by Theserpentsnight



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Ableism, Adopted Children, Angst, Bullying, Child Abuse, Child Death, Gen, Light Angst, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 62,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24173131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theserpentsnight/pseuds/Theserpentsnight
Summary: Attor is the runt of the clutch and struggles to keep up with his brothers as their mother gives them a tour of their home, The Tangled Wood. His would-be adventure is quickly ruined by his spooky surroundings and his own cowardly heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I was 13, enjoy lmao
> 
> edit: I haven't read this story in seven years, but after reviewing the other chapters, I can now tell you that its basically warrior cats but with dragons.

Attor was jostled awake by a sharp jab in the stomach. He opened his eyes to see his brother Gluarung standing over him. “Get up moron.” Gluarung hissed through gritted teeth. “Today we’re going outside, and Mother says we can’t go without you. So hurry up already.” Gluarung turned and walked out of view of the nest. Attor yawned, still frightfully tired, and stretched each muscle in turn. Finally he left the nest and followed after Gluarung.

Attor entered a larger cavernous room. This was the place he often heard Mother spending time in with Nidhug. Attor didn’t care much for family time, and neither did Gluarung. Attor saw Gluarung and Nidhug sitting in front of Mother on the opposite side of the cave. Gluarung seemed impatient while Nidhug seemed thrilled just by the fact that Mother was there. Attor walked slowly towards them, his weary mind weighing down his footsteps. Eventually he took a seat besides Gluarung, slumping down and resting his head. With a growl, Gluarung kicked Attor’s head away and said, “How are you so tired? You’ve been sleeping for three days straight!” Attor perked in surprise. “I have?” He squeaked. Gluarung seemed irritated, “Yes! All you’ve ever done since you were born is slouch around and get in the way!” Attor flinched and ducked down in embarrassment. “Sorry.” He whispered. Gluarung’s only response was to blow steam out his nostrils.

Eiko had been looking on patiently, waiting for the two hatchlings to finish their feud before speaking. “Today is the day I will show you around The Tangled Wood, home to the Shadow Dragons.” Attor suddenly perked. “Shadow Dragons? What are those?” He asked anxiously. It was Gluarung who responded. “It’s what we are, dummy. You were sleeping like a little baby, so you missed it, but Father came and told us all about the Shadow Dragons.” Gluarung cleared his throat and spoke again. “The shadow dragons of the tangled woods are tricksters, they prefer to be capricious and fickle, like the flickering shadows they manipulate. Of all the dragons, shadow dragons are the most enthralled by games, and delight in winning, even if it means underhandedly.”

“Maybe you do pay attention to what you’re told after all.” Nidhug grumbled.

“The shadow dragons sound awful.” Attor cried.

“You would say that, because you’re weak. We should just drop you off in The Scarred Wastelands.” Gluarung snorted.

Gluarung received a swat in the head by Eiko. “He is your brother, and whether you like it or not, a shadow dragon. You will treat him as such. No more talk of The Scarred Wastelands, understood?”

“Yes Mother.” Gluarung mumbled, giving Attor a dirty glance.

“Now then, shall we go?” Eiko asked the three hatchlings.

“Yes!” Gluarung and Nidhug piped up excitedly. Only Attor skulked and said, “Sure.” To Attor’s surprise, Eiko turned concerned eyes on him. “What’s the matter, my son? I thought you would enjoy exploration.” Attor shifted uncomfortably as the interrogating eyes of his brothers turned on him. “It’s just- I thought we would be exploring someplace different. Less…Scary.” Attor forced the last word out with difficulty as he saw the anger appear in his brothers’ expressions. However, when Eiko spoke, it was with sympathy. “Do not fear, my son. The shadow dragons are your friends; we live together in harmony under our reigning god Shadowbinder.” Attor cast his head down and muttered, “Ok.”

“Spread your wings with me, my children, and let us ascend upon our wonderful forest.”

“Look Mother! I’ve been practicing, just like you showed me.” Nidhug said as he took to the air after a running start. Gluarung laughed and took to the air in one beat of his mighty wings. Attor shuffled embarrassedly; he did not know how to fly yet. Eiko noticed his distress and spread her wings in demonstration. “Like this, Attor.” Attor copied his mother to the best of his ability, yet when he tried to fly, he would trip and fall or skid across the cave. Gluarung burst out into laughter whenever Attor landed on his face or otherwise got hurt, while Nidhug waited impatiently for Attor to fly so they could leave.

After landing on his face for what must’ve been the twentieth time, Attor sat down and cried out, “I’ll never be a shadow dragon or a dragon of any kind! I’m too weak!”

“It’s about time you realized that.” Gluarung snickered.

Eiko shot Gluarung a warning glance and said to Attor gently. “It’s alright, my dearest; no dragon masters the art of flying on their first try.”

“I did.” Gluarung reminded her.

“Nidhug had two more days to practice than you, don’t be ashamed.” Eiko continued, ignoring Gluarung.

“Nidhug didn’t get it on his first try, but he didn’t fall on his face twenty times, either!” Gluarung pointed out with a laugh.

“Gluarung, if you can’t keep your snout shut, than perhaps you’d like to stay here.” Eiko threatened. Gluarung shut his mouth with an audible click. Eiko turned back to Attor. “Would you like to ride on my back?” Eiko offered. Attor glanced at Gluarung uncertainly, knowing he would mock Attor for this later. “Ok.” He agreed. Eiko helped Attor climb onto her back and then, with Nidhug and Gluarung behind her, she soared out of their lesser lair of the driftwood drag.

***

Attor held onto his mother’s back for dear life as they soared over the cursed, murky wood of rail-thin evergreens, enveloped by an impenetrable mist. Within the thickness of this twilight, the Shadowbinder and her ilk sneak unseen, skittering and laughing at one another through gnarled brambles, and among glowing shrooms and tree roots. The earth here is literally sunken, as if half of the Sunbeam Ruins fell away into darkness willingly.

“This is where we live, Driftwood Drag.” Eiko announced as they flew above their lair to get a better view of the surrounding land. Hollow, rotted logs line the banks of the river delta, the silty flow impeded further by haphazard dams of wood, bark, and leaf-litter stuck together. The fertile lands and abundance of food to be found in the region attract all manner of local wildlife, and dragons are no exception. Roosts are routinely built using the natural dams, expanding heavily into above-ground draconic habitats.

Attor stared at the land speechlessly. “We live in this dump?” Either Eiko didn’t hear him, or she ignored him. After letting the hatchlings get a good look at Driftwood Drag, she continued on. “Next I will show you Wispwillow Grove. It’s one of the best regions in Tangled Woods.” Eiko declared. Attor muttered uncertainly from Eiko’s back, “I’m not sure I wanna see much more of this place than I already have.” This time Eiko responded. “Trust me, Wispwillow Grove is a sight to see.” She said.

If any part of this darkened land can be called beautiful, it is the grove. All manner of giant glowing fungi dot the terrain, providing the only light that does not fight its way through the murk that hangs above. Among these mushrooms, trickster dragons chase firebugs and faeries, content to capture some for the eerie lanterns that illuminate their hovels and caves.

Attor looked at the grove from his hiding place on Eiko’s back. “I suppose it is kinda pretty. Compared to the rest of the land, anyway.” Attor admitted. His mother smiled at him fondly. “You see, my child? There is no reason to be afraid. In time you will come to love the darkness of The Tangled Wood.” Attor nodded, but said nothing. “Why not go explore?” Eiko suggested suddenly. Gluarung landed on a moss covered rock below. “Sounds like an exciting challenge!” Gluarung declared. Nidhug landed in the soggy soil and looked at the fungi in wonder. “What wills these fungi to bring light in such a dark and damp place?” Nidhug asked. Eiko seemed surprised at Nidhug’s question.

“Why don’t you see if you can find out yourself? Go explore.” Eiko said.

“Alright, I will.” Nidhug said cheerily.

“I’ll explore every corner of the world before you take two steps!” Gluarung boasted.

“Wait.” Eiko said. “I want you all to stick together.”

“Yes Mother.” Nidhug said immediately.

“What!? No fair! How am I supposed to explore with these two slowing me down?” Gluarung said indignantly.

“You will explore together or not at all.” Eiko persisted.

“Fine.” Gluarung sighed. “But you two better not get in my way!”

Attor climbed down gingerly from Eiko’s back. When he touched the ground, his feet sunk into the bog, making him squeal in surprise. “Mother, he’s going to alert all the prey we’re coming!” Gluarung said.

“Who said we were hunting? I want to explore.” Nidhug said.

“Me too.” Attor agreed, not wanting to get involved in a sport he was unfamiliar with.

“Fine then, that settles it; you both are just a bunch of babies.” Gluarung snorted.

“Am not!” Attor said defensively.

“You are stupid. If you try to go hunting without first knowing your surroundings, you’ll surely fail.” Nidhug said.

“What do you know? You can’t know for sure by just reading it in books, you have to experience it.” Gluarung argued.

Eiko seemed highly interested in the argument. “You both have very good points. Why don’t you see who can catch the most prey? That will show who the better hunter is.”

“That is a good idea, I’ll try it Mother.” Nidhug agreed.

“Try as you may, you will never beat me.” Gluarung boasted.

Attor stayed silent. When the two hatchlings began to head deeper into the grove, he followed closely, scared at the thought of being left behind. Nidhug stopped often to gaze at a patch of mushrooms or a gathering of fungi, taking deep interest in the environment around him. Every time Nidhug stopped, Gluarung would take the time to explain in great detail why Nidhug was an idiot and he had no good sense of adventure, and that if he weren’t always cuddled up in a book, he would be at least half the dragon Gluarung was. Despite this, Nidhug insisted on stopping every three minutes or so to gaze at the land. Attor was grateful for the slow pace since he was already scared half to death and needed some time to get used to the decay and filth all around him.

Finally Gluarung turned on Nidhug. “You two are nothing but dead weight! I’m going on by myself.” Before Nidhug could respond, Gluarung stomped off. Despite Gluarung’s tendency to be mean spirited towards Attor, he found the presence of Gluarung to be comforting due to his strength. Now it was just Attor and Nidhug. Attor glanced at Nidhug uncertainly, wondering if he would abandon him too. “Well, come along then.” Nidhug said to Attor. “I may not like you much, but Mother wanted us to stick together.” Relieved, Attor followed his brother through the grove, observing the wildlife around him and for once, actually enjoying his departure of the lair.

Attor began to get very absorbed in his surroundings, so absorbed that, when Nidhug strayed from the path to observe some glowing fungi, he wandered down the path even further than he should have. He gazed up at the trees in the grove, marveling at how tall they stood even when fungi was eating at their trunks and rotting away their roots. He marveled at every sight and sound he heard, letting himself breath in the scent of the muck and grime and honestly enjoy it. He was a shadow dragon, and this was his home.

It wasn’t until Attor got snagged in some brambles that he realized he had traveled too far. He struggled desperately against the snare until he forcefully ripped himself free. His body was covered in stinging cuts and he had thorns lodged in-between his claws, which he plucked out with his teeth. After Attor had plucked out every thorn from his feet, he took a moment to observe his surroundings. The gnarled, twisting shapes of the brambles are sinister against the moonlight, and provide excellent defense to the clans that have painstakingly dug themselves hearths within. Beneath the crushing, thorny knots are some of the darkest places in the realm, and it is nearly impossible for even nocturnal creatures to see more than a few feet in front of them.

Attor’s entire being screamed at him to run, but something kept him rooted there to the ground. Attor peered into the darkness; he felt something staring back at him, watching. Suddenly a set of claws struck out from the depths of the brambles, knocking Attor windless. Attor felt blood soak the ground around him and he gasped, writhing at the sudden burst of pain in his side. Attor looked up and saw a shadowy form descending upon him, with glowing red eyes and slavering fangs. Attor gave out a cry as the shadow picked him up in its large set of jaws and shook him like a ragdoll. Attor squealed helplessly as he felt the fangs dig past his scaly armor and into his soft flesh. Black spots were beginning to form at the corners of his vision, and in desperation Attor struck out with his claws. At first his claws scratched empty air, but after a few frantic slashes, he felt his claws dig into something soft. Attor gripped on tighter and dug his claws as deep as he could. He felt the thing he was gripping suddenly dislodge, and the beast attacking him gave out a screech and dropped him.

Attor looked up at his offender, and saw a giant black dragon, at least six times his size. The dragon was as black as night, with deep crimson claws and a crimson eye. The dragon was clutching one side of his face and screeching in agony; he was missing an eye. Attor jumped in horror as he realized that the dragon’s eye was speared in his claws. He tried to shake the gory sight from his claws, but it would not come loose, so instead he fled. He ran as fast as he could, trying to escape the dragon and the sight of his missing eye, hoping that the eye would eventually come loose as he ran.

Attor ran blindly for what felt like an eternity, his surroundings a blur and his feet barely touching the ground. It wasn’t until he crashed into the side of Gluarung that his flight ceased. Gluarung didn’t budge an inch, though Attor had been running at top speed, whereas Attor recoiled and fell on his side. The second he hit the ground he felt pain shoot up his body, reminding him of his injuries. Before Attor could get up, Gluarung pinned him by the throat. “What do you think you’re doing, birdbrain!?” Gluarung demanded furiously. “I was just about to catch my first piece prey when you blundered in here like an idiot and scared it off!” Attor could only choke as the massive weight of Gluarung pressed on his throat. Gluarung’s eyes suddenly widened as he noticed Attor’s condition. “What did you get yourself into?” Gluarung asked, lifting his hand off Attor’s neck so he could speak. Attor gasped for air as the weight was removed and started spluttering words.

“I got lost…and then I got stuck in brambles…and then it was dark…and then that thing came out of nowhere! It attacked me and I didn’t know what…what to do…I was scared and I-I took out its…It screamed and I ran…and I ran.” Attor gasped between breaths.

“What?” Gluarung said irritably. “Did you run into a tree and scramble what little brains you have left?”

“I was attacked by a dragon!” Attor finally managed. “It had me in its jaws and I took out its eye and ran!”

“Its eye, huh? Where is this eye?” Gluarung said with interest.

“It was stuck in my claws…” Attor said as he peered down at his hands cautiously. To his dismay, the eye was still there, the retina tangled around his fingers. Attor squealed and gave a mighty flick of his hand, finally dislodging the gruesome thing from his claws. Gluarung went over to it and examined it, his eyes narrowing. “You took out a dragon’s eye?” Gluarung asked dazedly. Attor didn’t respond; he was asking himself the same question. “Listen up, pipsqueak.” Gluarung said, picking up the eye. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m going to take this eye, and I’m going to tell Mother and Nidhug that I fought the dragon, and saved your hide. If you don’t play along, well, let’s just say you’re going to have health problems in the future.”

Attor was shocked. “B-but…I fought the dragon…I fought really hard too…”

Gluarung showed his teeth. “If you want to live, you’ll say that I fought the dragon.”

Attor was painfully aware of his wounds, lesser size and strength. He knew that Gluarung could kill him then and there if he wanted to, so instead of protesting any further, he cast his head down and nodded silently. Gluarung’s snarl creeped into a smile. “I’m glad we understand each other, brother.” Gluarung sneered coldly. Attor said nothing.

“Let’s find Mother then, shall we?” Gluarung asked, already heading back to where she was surely waiting. The whole way there Attor said nothing, even when Gluarung told his false story and Eiko asked his confirmation, he said nothing. The entire flight back to the lair, he said nothing, and when they ate supper and went to the nest, he still said nothing. He fell into a shell of silence, blocking out the world and retreating to the depths of his mind where he fought his sorrow, despair, regret, and anguish with nothing but the feeling of self pity and hopelessness.


	2. Chapter 2

Nidhug went missing three days after the exploration of Wispwillow Grove. Attor didn’t acknowledge the absence of his brother; he didn’t want to acknowledge anything  
anymore. He only wished to be let alone in his withering world of self pity and regret. However, when Nidhug finally returned and dumped a bunch of junk in the nest, Attor was forced to acknowledge his presence.

“Where’ve you been?” Attor asked disinterestedly.

“Scavenging.” Nidhug answered.

“Scavenging? What for?”

“I thought I might find something interesting, y’know, for the hoard. But all I found were a few bones and skulls.” Nidhug said disappointedly. "So, I thought, maybe I'll just sell this stuff at the market."

"Then why'd you bring it here?" Attor peeked out of his outer eye and glanced at Nidhug, who was wearing white linen wraps on his wings. "And what are you wearing?"

"To be honest, I thought you'd like to come down to the market with me and- I don't know, get something for yourself?"

"Mother put you up to this, didn't she?" Attor sniffed disdainfully. "You always were wrapped around her little finger."

"What's your problem all of a sudden?" Nidhug replied hotly.

When Attor didn't answer, Nidhug said, "It's the eyeball, isn't it? Gluarung didn't fight that dragon, you did. Am I right?"

Attor perked in surprise. "How'd you know that?"

Nidhug shrugged. "Hey, Gluarung's strong and all, but not even he could take on a full grown dragon and escape without a scratch. I think Mother knows too."

"If she does, why didn't she say anything?"

Nidhug shrugged again. "She figured you'd of said something if you were against Gluarung taking credit for your actions."

Attor slumped down as the feeling of self pity threatened to overwhelm him again. "I'm pathetic." Attor sniffled. "Good for nothing."

"I'm not going to argue with you, but Mother wants me to cheer you up, so how about we go down to the market and get you something nice?"

Attor shook his head slowly. Nidhug prodded Attor's side. "Then at least come with me, you need to get out of the lair for a little bit. You can't sulk here forever."

"I could too." Attor mumbled under his breath.

"Get up. Now." Nidhug demanded.

Attor moaned, but this time did as he was told. Nidhug gathered the scraps he had gathered, and with Attor in tow, left the lair. Nidhug began to fly to the market, but upon realizing Attor was following on foot, he landed. "You do realize flying is much faster, right?"

"I still don't know how to fly, I never practiced." Attor growled.

"What better time to learn? It's a nice breezy day."

"As if getting a face full of rock and stone wasn't enough, now I'm gonna get a face full of muck and grime?" Attor grumbled sourly.

"It's much easier than it seems. Your wings have really developed in the past three days; it should be even easier than before."

"Great, because it wasn't easy enough to fall down."

Nidhug directed Attor to a nearby rock. "Stand there. Here, this is how you spread your wings to catch the wind."

Attor copied Nidhug without much thought, simply doing as he was told. "Good, when the wind picks up, you should feel it catch on your wings, from there, it's pure instinct." Nidhug said. When Attor gave Nidhug a doubtful glance, Nidhug assured him. "Trust me." and then he mumbled under his breath, "What else can you do?"

Attor stood on the rock for a few moments, waiting for the wind to pick up, and all the while he was wondering what it would feel like when his instincts took over. He closed his eyes and wondered what it would feel like to soar. He even dared to imagine that he would soar higher than anyone else, that he would rise to the top on majestic wings, marking the sky with his grace.

When Attor opened his eyes, he was high off the ground. Giving a squeal of surprise, he lost his balance and took a sharp pummel to the ground. Attor groaned as he felt his old wounds start throbbing in irritation. "That was great!" Nidhug exclaimed.

"What, my spectacular fall?" Attor asked bitterly.

"No. Your spectacular flight. That was amazing!"

Attor stared at Nidhug blankly. "Try again." Nidhug insisted.

Taking up his position on the rock again, Attor focused on his breathing. The wind was already blowing, so Attor had to time the unfolding of his wings perfectly. He felt the wind all around him, calling him. He sensed the air current he needed and, with surprising accuracy, he beat his wings and took to the sky.

At first he squealed as he suddenly ascended into the sky, but this time he kept his wings in balance. Attor found that Nidhug was right about his instincts; the hardest part was getting off the ground, but once that was accomplished, the flying itself was easy. Attor expanded his wings in the sky and savored the feeling of the wind gliding coolly across their surface. Seeing how this was the first time Attor actually used the muscles in his wings, it was quite refreshing to just glide in the air.

After a few moments, Attor realized Nidhug was gliding besides him. "I told you it was easy." Nidhug said. "Should we go to the market now?" Attor nodded.

The flight to the market was much quicker than walking would have been. Attor was grateful to his brother for helping him fly, though every time he tried to mention it, Nidhug would cut him off and insist he didn't. Upon arrival at the market, Nidhug sold all his findings except some old chest pieces that he wanted to collect. By the time they had finished selling every last thing, they had 6,269 gold pieces.

"What should we do now?" Attor asked in a better mood due to the cheerfulness around the market.

"Auction house?" Nidhug suggested.

Since Attor didn't respond, the two went to the auction house, whereupon Nidhug tried to buy more white linen wrappings. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough gold. When they were about to leave, Attor noticed a pretty female fae dragon from the corner of his eye. She was black as midnight with hazel eyes and brown wings. Attor clutched Nidhug's arm tightly, and both Attor and Nidhug were surprised by the action. "Look over there." Attor said, gesturing towards the fae. “Can we bid on her?” Nidhug narrowed his eyes at the fae.

"I suppose. She would make a good addition to our clan. But we’re not bidding higher than 3,000, ok?"

***

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into bidding 5,000 gold pieces.” Nidhug grumbled as he carried the fae on his back.

"What's your name?" Attor asked the little fae. She looked at him uncertainly. "I don't know. My parents never gave me a name." She responded. Attor mauled it over a bit, observing the detail of the fae.

"How about- Chumana?" Attor suggested.

The fae nodded her head in acceptance. "Chumana sounds like a lovely name."

"Then it's settled. Welcome to our clan, Chumana." Nidhug said.

As it turned out, Chumana couldn't fly because she was only two days old; Nidhug carried her on his back. Two days is an early age to be sold. Attor thought. He tried to imagine what it would feel like if he was sold at two days. He probably would've felt even more useless and unwanted than he already was; he was unable to speak for himself, too scared to fight, too scared to explore, and he didn't have enough cardio to stay awake for more than eight hours a day. Attor cringed at the thought of his own uselessness.

When Attor entered the lair, he was immediately pinned to the ground. "Welcome back, pipsqueak." Gluarung snarled maliciously in his ear. "Where've you been, playing at the market? What did you get me?"

"Are things always like this around here?" Chumana asked.

"More or less." Nidhug answered with a bored glance at Gluarung and Attor.

"Tch. Who's this supposed to be?" Gluarung asked, glaring at Chumana.

"This is Chumana; she's going to live with us now." Nidhug responded.

"She's not even a shadow dragon, she's an ice dragon!" Gluarung cried outrageously.

"She is still very young, she will have time to adapt and learn the ways of the shadow dragons." Eiko said, startling the four hatchlings. “So long as she is willing to learn the ways of the shadows, I am willing to teach.”

Chumana dipped her head graciously to Eiko. “Thank you. I would love to learn your ways; I am open-minded.”

Attor found himself staring at Chumana. This dragon was willing to drop whatever she had learned and accept something different? Attor had trouble accepting his own ways, even though he was born into it. Chumana caught him staring and gave him a quizzical tilt of her head. Without knowing why, Attor quickly ducked away and retreated to the nest. As he settled in comfortably, he continued to think about Chumana, what she would do for his clan, how she could fit in, and most of all, how she would treat him. His stomach turned at the thought of having another brute bully him within his own clan, but Chumana didn’t seem to be the bullying type. From what Attor could tell, she was rather sweet and kind-hearted, but Attor couldn’t be sure.

Attor felt a weight press on the back of his neck, and Gluarung back in his ear. “We’re going training pipsqueak, get ready to die.” Then Gluarung lifted his hand and left the lair. Confused, Attor followed after him cautiously. When he got outside, he saw Gluarung waiting with a large red dragon similar in appearance to Gluarung. The dragon had violet eyes and orange wings; he was muscular from head to toe and held a powerful air around him. Attor immediately cowered away in a nearby rotting log. He shook as he heard the greater dragon approach, and he flinched to the other side of the log when its large violet eye peered inside. “Do not fear me, my son. I have come to teach you in the ways of combat.” The dragon said. Attor peek at him cautiously.

“You’re son?” He asked.

The dragon gave a hearty laugh. “Yes, you are my son. My name is Longwei. Now how about you come out from there and greet me?” The violet eye retreated as Longwei backed up to give Attor space to leave. Attor crawled out slowly, suddenly ashamed and embarrassed for being so cowardly in front of his father. “Greetings, my son.” Longwei said warm heartedly.

“H-hello Father.” Attor stammered, reluctant to meet his gaze. How could such a strong dragon like Longwei give birth to a small, pitiful infant like Attor?

“Stop that.” Longwei ordered suddenly in a deep, firm voice.

Attor looked up, shocked to see Longwei’s posture had changed completely. His violet eyes, which had been dancing with amusement just a moment ago, were now sullen. His wings were spread out threateningly, and he was positioned as if he were preparing to strike. Attor dropped to the ground and covered his head with his wings. “I-I’m sorry! Very sorry!” Attor squeaked, even though he had no idea what he did wrong, he figured Longwei was angry because he was useless.

“I thought I told you to stop.” Longwei boomed. “Stop doubting yourself.”

The last sentence caught Attor by surprise. He must have heard him wrong. “What?” Attor asked in a small voice.

“You will stop doubting yourself at once. No matter what your size you are still strong and very capable.” Longwei said.

“B-but…”

“Enough. Do you think that your mother is weaker than me just because she is smaller? Do you think that makes her useless?”

“…”

“I assure you she is not. You and your mother are of the same breed; you are both Mirror dragons. Your strength lies in your size and agility.”

“My strength?”

Longwei’s gaze seemed to soften slightly. “Yes my child. Your strength. Not Nidhug’s, not Gluarung’s, but yours.”

“I have none.” Attor cried in despair.

Longwei buffeted him in the head with his wing. “You do. And you will find it.” Longwei stated. “Come, it is time to start your training.”

Attor followed as Gluarung shot him a smug glance. Longwei led Gluarung and Attor to a meadow far out of The Tangled Wood’s grasp. The meadow seemed almost brown in the dusk, with bits of mud here and there, dotting the landscape. It was here that Longwei ordered them to stand in a line, and wait. When questioned by Attor, Longwei assured him they would be challenged. Right after he finished speaking, two familiars appeared. One was a Crimson Emperor, a blue animal resembling a springbok. It had white wings with strange red and black patterns, and a short black tail. The other was a Luna Mith; it resembled a green, anthropomorphic moth with two giant ear-like leaves on the sides of its head.

Attor felt himself tremble in fear; he didn’t know how to fight. “Follow my lead.” Longwei ordered, crouching down in preparation to attack. Attor copied his father hurriedly, afraid to take his eyes off the familiars. Longwei pounced on the Luna Mith and drove his claws down its center. It recoiled. “Now Gluarung!” Longwei commanded. Without any hesitation, Gluarung followed up with the same move as his father, raking his claws down its middle. “Now Attor!” Longwei signaled for Attor to follow up. Attor hesitated briefly before his father pushed him forward. He charged the Luna Mith, aiming for its center. As he was charging, his eyes widened in astonishment; the Luna Mith was focused on Gluarung. It wasn’t even paying attention to Attor. It knows that I’m harmless. Attor thought bitterly. Well then he would show it just how strong he was! He thought with sudden resentment. With his tail, he whipped the Luna Mith in the face as hard as he could possibly manage. The Luna Mith fell to the ground, stunned.

The Crimson Emperor looked back and forth, as if it was confused and didn’t want to be involved. With a roar, Longwei brought his claws down on the Luna Mith to deliver the final blow. At the last second, the Luna Mith darted away with surprising speed. Longwei cursed as he watched it retreat. Gluarung, who had been waiting behind the Luna Mith, was able to corner it and pounce. “You’re pathetic, father!” He roared as he brought his claws down on the Luna Mith’s throat. The Luna Mith gave out an unearthly cry as the last of its breath rushed out its mouth, and then it was still. Without stopping, Gluarung sprung from the Luna Mith to the Crimson Emperor, taking it by surprise and dealing critical damage to its ribcage. While it was trying to regain its balance, Attor dealt a quick blow to its foreleg, then quickly jumped away, fearing a counter attack. It flinched. Longwei wasted no time, before it could recover; he smacked it aside with his tail, knocking it out of the air completely. Attor saw a deep wound open up on its shoulder, one that would probably continue to bleed if not attended to. Gluarung, who was still positioned behind the Crimson Emperor, smacked it aside with his tail as well, copying his father’s technique. Another deep blood welling wound appeared, this time on its other shoulder. Somehow, the Crimson Emperor managed to stand, it was then Attor realized he would have to finish it off.  
He hesitated, and instantly hated himself for doing so. Why was he so afraid? Why was he so small, useless, unwanted, and hated? Attor didn’t know why these thoughts were suddenly flooding his head, but he couldn’t stop them. He found himself standing there rooted to the ground, staring at the Crimson Emperor as it bled out from both sides, barely standing. Next thing he knew it was pounded into the ground by Gluarung, who proceeded to beat the Crimson Emperor until it lie dead. Gluarung turned cold, mocking eyes on Attor, who instinctively tried to escape. He was stopped by Longwei. “Why did you hesitate?” Longwei asked.

Attor looked down at his feet, unwilling to look up and see the disappointment in Longwei’s eyes. “I don’t know, Father.” Attor said.

“Then I’ll tell you.”

After a few moments of silence, Attor looked up slowly and saw there wasn’t any disappointment in Longwei’s eyes at all. Longwei was being tolerant, even after Attor’s failure. “You see my son; it was doubt that clouded your mind. Doubt and fear are the two enemies of a fighter; it overwhelms and suffocates the dragon, and prevents them from acting. You need to learn to control your fear Attor, and get rid of your doubt. You are a very capable dragon, no matter what you believe, so you may as well embrace that fact.”

Attor stared up at Longwei, he was a small worm in his shadow, and surely he would never be as great as he. Attor couldn’t even grasp the thought of following in his father’s footsteps. He could never be as great as his father was. Then he let Longwei’s words sink in, and he got to thinking. Perhaps he would never be as great as Longwei, but he could be great by his own standards. He could fly, he could fight, and he just needed practice. At the thought that he may not be so useless after all, he immediately lifted his head a bit higher, enthused to try his best and become less of a boor, if anything. Longwei recognized this change and nodded his approval. Longwei signaled to the two hatchlings that it was time to leave, and turned to take flight for home. The moment Longwei’s back was turned; Attor felt a strong leg kick him in the side, sending him sprawling into a nearby mud puddle he had failed to notice. He heard a snort of contempt as Gluarung passed him meaningfully.  
Quicker than he would have thought possible, Attor felt all his bravado leave him. He stared off into space as all his depression returned; he could try as hard as he pleased, improve as much as he wanted, and he could even surpass Eiko and Longwei, but he would never beat Gluarung. He knew it in the pit of his stomach, and Gluarung would always be sure to remind him.

***

Upon returning to the lair, Attor greeted Eiko and Chumana, who returned it kindly, got his supper stolen by Gluarung, and then went to the nest hungry.  
He sighed as he heard approaching footsteps, expecting Gluarung to show, like every night. He wasn’t disappointed when he saw the pink head peer spitefully over the side of the nest. “Hello there.” Gluarung growled. “What are you doing?”

Attor sighed inwardly; he knew this routine. Gluarung would cut him off and say, “You’re being useless!” Then he would guffaw at his simpleminded joke and proceed to poke and prod Attor until he got bored, whereupon he would kick Attor out the nest, not to sleep, but just for fun. The “You’re being useless!” part followed through as scheduled, but in the middle of Gluarung’s jabbing, Chumana entered the nest. Attor looked at her in surprise, though he should have expected her to come, seeing how it was the only nest in the lair. Gluarung stopped his tormenting momentarily to give Chumana a contemptuous glance, and then proceeded with his task to make Attor miserable.

Chumana glared at Gluarung and squared up to him, though she was much smaller than he. “What do you think you’re doing?” Chumana demanded. Gluarung was unimpressed.

“What does it look like, sweet cheeks? If you guess right, I’ll give you a kiss.” Gluarung said mockingly.

Chumana didn’t appreciate his remark. “Leave him alone. Now.”

Attor was impressed at her bravery; she didn’t look like one who could fight, especially against a brute like Gluarung. Gluarung wasn’t as enthusiastic. Gluarung swiped her across the maw. She blinked, stunned. “Now listen here, you wretch. This nest belongs to shadow dragons; do you know what that means? It means ragged brats picked up from the streets aren’t welcome here. Anyone pathetic enough to be sold by their parents at three days old deserves to crawl in a hole and die. You are diminishing my imagine by standing in the same room as me, and you are disgracing the shadow name, ice dragon.”

Chumana took a breath. “Maybe I am an unwanted brat from the streets, and maybe I’m not a shadow dragon, but I sure do make a better impression than you.”

That tore it for Gluarung. With a roar, he clouted her in the head, knocking her aside and rendering her unconscious. Gluarung was about to turn back to Attor, when Nidhug landed in front of Gluarung and inhaled deeply. Gluarung stared at him in confusion, and then Nidhug let loose a jet of flame. Gluarung jumped in surprise as he was engulfed in flame. As he jumped back, he bumped Attor and sent him tumbling out the nest. Attor looked back to see the nest catch on fire. Nidhug emerged with Chumana on his back and Gluarung appeared after, looking rather incensed with his body covered in burns. Chumana slowly came to as Nidhug placed her down gingerly. Gluarung rounded on Nidhug. “What was that!?” He bellowed as Nidhug dodged swiftly.

“Fire.” He replied simply, as if Gluarung were stupid.

Gluarung stared at him blankly. “Where’d you learn how to breathe fire?”

“I acquired this knowledge through my various studies of Dragon Lore.”

“What?”

“Studies.” Nidhug responded, treating Gluarung as if he were his younger sibling. “I read books and learn things.”

“Then you should learn to stay out of things that don’t involve you! Why’d you turn on me like that?”

“I acted the way I did in response to your oppression towards Chumana.”

“If you don’t talk normally…” Gluarung threatened.

“I figured such a well-rounded campaigner like you would be able to comprehend such an eloquent manner of speech, but perhaps I was mistaken.” Nidhug continued, grinning deviously.

Gluarung’s only response was a hiss. A moment later Eiko came in, observed the damage, and demanded to know what had happened. All the hatchlings started spluttering at once, their voices ringing out loudly next to the crackling flames. Only Attor remained silent.

“He assaulted Chumana with depravity, and as a bystander I only delivered a justice-“

“So he decided to burn me with fire! Not to mention the entire nest!”

“Mrs. Eiko, Gluarung was bullying Attor, so I stepped in and-“

“Got smacked in the face.” Gluarung grinned.

“You have no indication that you are ashamed, despite your actions being ones of wickedness and injustice.”

“This is what happens to Nidhug when we leave him alone with a few books for a couple hours.”

“Was that an attempt at humor? I am certainly not amused.”

“Enough of this.” Their mother sighed. “Someone is going to have to rebuild this nest, and it should be you four.”

“No way! Make Nidhug do it! He’s the one who burned it in the first place!”

“Yes, and I did so by a means that your monotonous skull cannot even fathom.”

“…I would feel more insulted if I had any idea what you were saying.”

“Ah, perhaps I shall translate in Spanish? How about French? German? Niu?”

“Niu? Wtf…”

“Enough!” Eiko roared. “You four will rebuild this nest and have it done by tomorrow night. No arguments.” Nidhug bowed his head in obedience, and Chumana copied him. Attor gave a shaky, “Yes Mother.” While Gluarung snorted and looked away.

“Get some sleep. Since you don’t have a nest, you’ll be sleeping on the floor, yes?”

The hatchlings nodded regretfully.

“Good night then.” Eiko said, exiting the room.

Gluarung glared hatefully at Nidhug, who was too distracted by Chumana to notice. “Are you certain you have not acquired any injury?” He fretted. Chumana seemed embarrassed by his concern.

“Yes. I’m positive.” She said with a bashful smile.

Attor looked on jealously; a few moments ago she had been focused on him. Now all she would look at is Nidhug and his charismatic behavior. Attor wondered how a dragon could sound like such a pain one moment and then be alluring another. Attor wished he had that skill. He wished he could just change personality whenever it suited him. Life would be so much easier, he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Attor stared at the new nest he and the other hatchlings had made in dissatisfaction. It was nothing like the old nest Attor had spent all his hours in, and he no longer felt the need to snuggle up in its protective walls. Instead, he felt the sudden need to go exploring. He had never done so because Gluarung was always outside training, and he was afraid to have an encounter with Gluarung alone. Attor had the urge to go fly off into the distance somewhere and go sightseeing, but that was an easy way to get lost. Since Attor was still young and he had only been out the lair three times, he didn’t know his way around and would need a guide. He thought of asking Nidhug. Nidhug didn’t go out of his way to bully Attor, but he didn’t seem to want anything to do with him either, in fact, he didn’t seem to care about anything but books, trinkets, and tokens. And Chumana. He thought jealously.

Attor went looking for Nidhug, who was setting out to leave, even though he had just come back. “Wait for me Nidhug!” He called. Nidhug turned impatiently. “What is it?” He asked.

“Where are you going?” Attor asked when he had caught up.

“I was going to Dragonhome.” He replied.

“Dragonhome?”

“It’s where the earth dragons live. Don’t you know anything?”

“Hey, why are you talking normally today?”

“Because you’re too stupid to understand me if I spoke otherwise. Are you done? Can I go now?”

“I want to come.”

“Fine.”

Attor was surprised he had accepted him so easily. Nidhug took flight and Attor scrambled after. Attor watched Driftwood Drag disappear behind him as he and Nidhug flew steadily northeast. They climbed higher into the sky, and Attor’s breath grew heavy by the time they had passed over Foxfire Bramble. Nidhug looked back at him irritably. “Don’t you ever exercise? You need to travel more.”

“How often do you travel? And how far?” Attor panted from behind.

“How often do you see me missing? That’s how often I travel. And so far the furthest I’ve gone is the Sea of a Thousand Currents.”

“I didn’t realize it was physically possible for a hatchling to travel that far.”

“Maybe not for a mirror dragon, but for a guardian dragon it’s as easy as walking from one side of the lair to the other.”

Despite his exhaustion, Attor took in all the sights he saw in fascination as he soared across the sky. To the west, he saw a truly terrible sight. Worse even than the rotting, fungi-filled woods of his home. It was like a wound in the center of the world, rot and runaway viruses pulse through the landscape, infecting the terrain as it spread ever outwards in a sick spiral of death and decay. That must be The Scarred Wasteland. Attor thought with a shiver as he remembered Nidhug mention scavenging there.

To the north, Attor saw what he believed to be The Viridian Labyrinth. The lush, tropical growth of Everbloom Gardens entices the senses: beautiful tri-colored hummingbirds flit between blossoms, weaving a nectar-rich symphony in the brilliant flowers that blanket the forest floor and perfume the humid breeze. Succulent, low-hanging fruits grow ripe in trees on rivulets fed from deep pools of crystal-clear water.

How could such different places- Attor thought. Be so close together? He realized that his home was right in-between these two lands, a mixture of rot and lush forests. His gaze lingered on these places until it disappeared altogether, replaced by a rocky, barren expanse of skittering stone and parched, packed dirt lined and featured with innumerable cracks. Was this Dragonhome?

Attor thought he would pass out when Nidhug suddenly folded his wings against his body and swooped down for a landing. Attor followed swiftly. When Attor landed, he realized they were at some kind of carnival that had been hidden in the shade of some boulders. There were games and festive everywhere, dragons of all breeds and ages were crowded around the gaming platforms, and taverns dotted the landscape. Attor widened his eyes in wonder. “Where are we?” He asked. Nidhug mused it over a bit, then said, “We’re somewhere along the road from The Shattered Plain and Cairnestone Rest.”

Following Nidhug closely, nervous of all the unfamiliar faces, Attor weaved in and out of the thick crowd of excited dragons. However, Attor’s nervousness faded quickly once he examined the different types of games. He approached a stand titled “Shock Witch” and asked the dragon at the stand what the objective was. “Ah, the lightning farms of the shifting expanse are a busy place, but that doesn’t mean that one can’t have a little bit of fun.” The dragon said. “In this game, line up the blocks to complete the circuit, fueling Tempest Spire. The more power that is produced, the more treasure for your clan.” Attor liked the sound of treasure. He looked over at Nidhug, who shrugged at him.

“If you want to play- then play.” Nidhug said.

“I think I’ll look at the other games first.” Attor responded.

“First time at the Fairgrounds?” The dragon asked.

Attor nodded.

“Where are you from, kid?”

“The Tangled Wood.”

“Then I would suggest Jigsaw, I think a shadow dragon like you would enjoy a game like that.”

Attor nodded again. “Thanks.” He said as he began to walk away.

Attor and Nidhug reached the stand labeled “Jigsaw”, whereupon Nidhug exchanged a few words with the dragon behind the stand. The dragon handed Nidhug a broad board covered in puzzle pieces, and Nidhug passed it over to Attor. Attor stared at the board. “I’m supposed to put these pieces together?” Nidhug closed his eyes with exaggerated patience. “Yes, Attor. You put the pieces together.” Attor sat down with the puzzle and narrowed his eyes, concentrating. He heard a stifled sigh from Nidhug. Attor picked up one of the pieces in his clawed fingers and looked at each puzzle piece in turn, trying to figure out where it went. He picked up a piece he thought might fit, but upon trying to connect them in several different places and failing, he set the piece down and continued to search. This continued twelve times before Nidhug let out an exasperated sigh and took the puzzle piece form Attor. “Look.” He said irritably. “It goes here.” He picked up a piece that Attor had already dismissed and connected them with ease. Attor stared. He picked up the now connected puzzle pieces and stared at the picture on them. “I can see a dragon head.” Attor said in amazement. Nidhug took a deep breath, and walked away, barely controlling his frustration.

Attor paid even closer attention to the pieces this time. He looked for a piece similar to the two pieces that made a dragon head image, and, finding one, tried to connect them. He felt a fierce satisfaction rise up inside him when the piece connected with the other two. “Hey Nidhug! Nidhug look!” He called, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. Attor shrugged, now engrossed in the puzzle.

Each time he put pieces together, he won a few coins. He felt immensely satisfied with himself when he had finished the puzzle, a bag of 1,000 gold coins at his side. The kind dragon at the stand had given Attor the coin bag to him when he had won over 200 coins. Attor decided he should find his brother, so he said goodbye to the dragon and set about looking for him. When he tried to meld into the crowd, however, he accidently bumped a Tundra dragon, causing her to spill her bag of treasure on the ground. Attor reached for the gems, prepared to help her pick them up, when she suddenly lashed out and bit his hand. “Thief!” She accused, crouching and showing her teeth. Attor was so startled he jumped back and fell into a dragon behind him. He quickly scrambled to his feet and turned to see it was Nidhug. “What’s going on here?” Nidhug asked.

“I-I-I…” Attor stammered.

“He tried to steal my well-earned treasure!” The Tundra hissed through gritted teeth.

“Is this true?” Nidhug asked Attor calmly, knowing full-well it wasn’t.

“N-NO!” He turned and addressed the Tundra. “It was an accident! I swear!”

“…” She stared him down with eyes like slits, and then said, “Well ok then. Sorry for the misunderstanding.” She sat on her haunches like a playful puppy and gave Attor a dazzling smile.

Attor stared at her, bewildered, as she slowly turned to pick up her treasure. She was different shades of green. Her body was covered in leopard spotted fur rather than scales, and her wings were a dark green that faded into a dark blue at the tips. She had a mane of blue fur running up and down her spin and atop her head rather than spikes. She examined her gems carefully, dusting them off and then speculating them again, apparently looking for any signs of scratches or chips. When she was satisfied there wasn’t any damage, she turned back to Attor. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just- Since I’ve been travelling I’ve had run-ins with thieves and murders, so I’ve learned to be very cautious when exploring the harsh lands of Dragonhome. Anyway, my name is Astarot. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Attor said, feeling strangely warm-hearted around this hyper dragon. “My name is Attor-“ He was cut off by Nidhug’s snickering. Astarot looked at him, slightly annoyed. “What’s so funny?” She asked.

“You have a male name.” Nidhug said.

Her smile faded away. “My father wanted a boy, ok?” She spat.

“Ah! I see now. He wanted a son, but upon discovering you were a girl, he kicked you out. That’s why you’re here alone, yes?”

“Wrong. I wasn’t kicked out, I left.” She said, puffing her chest defiantly.

“It would be understandable though; even for a female, you’re not much of a child.”

“I know where you’re from now!” She declared. “You’re a shadow dragon, aren’t you? My mother told me they had tongues like daggers.”

“Is that so? My mother told me earth dragons were strong.”

“Is that a challenge?” She asked, stepping forward menacingly.

Attor was baffled at how quickly the atmosphere had changed around these two. He stepped in-between, hoping to avoid a fight. Nidhug snarled and took a step forward. Attor’s mind worked frantically. He had to distract these two somehow. “Hey Nidhug? Nidhug!” He called.

“What!?” He snapped.

“Didn’t we come here to take care of some type of business?”

Nidhug’s eyes lit up as he apparently remembered something important. “Ah yes. We can’t afford to dilly dally here, we have matters to attend to.”

Then, without another word to Attor or Astarot, he walked off. Astarot’s growl faded and was replaced with a grin. She looked at Attor with a childlike mischievousness sparkling in her eyes. “What a butthead, am I right? He must drive everyone he meets absolutely crazy.” Attor thought momentarily of Chumana and how she looked at Nidhug when she thought no one was looking. Almost everyone. He thought bitterly. He found Astarot staring at him impishly, a big grin plastered on her face. “W-what?” He stammered, unnerved.

“What were you thinking about just then?” She asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh- no reason. You just had this really funny look on your face; it looked like you were about to choke up a hairball.”

Attor found this comparison very strange and doubted its accuracy, but when Astarot laughed, she laughed good-naturedly, making Attor laugh along. A few minutes had gone by when Attor finally thought to go look for his brother again. “I should probably go.” He said regretfully. Astarot’s eyes grew wide in distress. “Now? Couldn’t you stay? You’re the only dragon my age I’ve met who can take a joke.” Joke? Was that what she called it? “Sorry, but I have to go. If I don’t find Nidhug, he might leave me behind and-“ He stopped short as the blood drained from his face. “I have to go now.” Despite his urgency, he found himself hesitating. Then a thought occurred to him. “You could come with me!” He cried. “You got kicked out of your home right? You could live in The Tangled wood with me and my clan, you’d be welcomed.”

Astarot snorted. “I told you I wasn’t kicked out, I left. I’ll come with you, but I’ve never seen The Tangled Wood. I’d have to examine it before I decided to have it as a home.”

“Fair enough.”

Together, Attor and Astarot searched through the crowds of the Fairgrounds thoroughly for a good thirty minutes in search of Nidhug. By this time, Attor was pale with terror. “He left…” Attor whispered. Astarot was at his side in an instant, not sharing the same concerns at all.

“We’ll just have to find it on our own, it shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll ask one of the fair folk for directions, you stay right here.” She said before leaving.

When Astarot returned, Attor was just as she had left him; he hadn’t moved an inch. “Come on, it’s not that much of a journey, really. We can be there before nightfall if we leave right now.” Astarot said. Attor turned to her slowly, his fear of leaving a place with other dragons obvious. He didn’t want to leave a place where he had friendly company, fly out into that completely barren wasteland, get lost, and be left all alone. He wouldn’t be completely alone, he supposed. He had Astarot, and right now, Astarot was the only person he trusted. So he put his complete faith in her, got up, and took flight with her by his side.


	4. Chapter 4

Attor watched the barren land of Dragonhome disappear on the horizon as he and Astarot flew back to The Tangled Wood side by side. Attor saw Astarot’s gaze wander back and forth from The Scarred Wasteland to The Viridian Labyrinth, and he knew she was wondering the same thing he had. Attor was relieved when The Tangled Wood came into view, the darkness and shadows feeling strangely welcoming. He led Astarot though Foxfire Bramble and into Driftwood Drag, whereupon he went directly to the lair, half hidden behind fungi and overgrown hazardous mushrooms.

When Attor entered the lair, it was empty. He went through several other caves inside the lair in search of someone in his clan, Astarot following closely behind. Attor didn’t find anyone. That’s strange. He thought. He was used to Gluarung and Nidhug not being home, but usually he could at least find Eiko, and Chumana still wasn’t ready to explore The Tangled Wood. Something was wrong. He suddenly noticed with a start that the lair was wider than before. He also smelled a scent mixed in with that of the familiar smell of muck and rot. Something peculiar. As he turned a corner, double-checking all the caves, he found himself face to face with a pair of deep crimson eyes. He jumped back and gave a startled cry. Right there, five feet in front of him, was a plague dragon.

The plague dragon stared back at him calmly, a pearl clutched tightly to its chest. He was yellow with grey wings and a grey tipped tail. He had grey fur on his head that ran down his spine, and long, flowing whiskers. He had a horn on the tip of his snout and blood red eyes that made Attor shiver. It wasn’t just the depth of the eyes that unnerved Attor, it was the familiarity; he had seen those eyes before. The plague dragon continued to study him, and then he said, “Hello. You must be Attor.” His voice sounded like claws grating on stone compared to the silky voice of his fellow shadow dragons. “My name is Apep.” He rasped.

“Nice to meet you.” Astarot said from behind Attor, making him jump.

“Astarot! Stay back!” He warned in an urgent whisper. “He’s not a part of my clan.”

Astarot looked confused, but took a few steps back cautiously. Apep looked amused by their confusion. “What’s the matter, friend? Why have you been giving me such dirty looks?”

“What have you done to my clan?” Attor growled.

“What makes you think I’ve done anything to them?”

“You’re a plague dragon, one of the enemies, and you’re trespassing in my clan’s lair while they are nowhere to be seen.”

“I’m not your enemy. I’ve been invited by Gluarung to live here with this clan, and I have been accepted by Eiko.”

“I don’t believe you.” Attor snarled. He didn’t believe anything from those crimson eyes.

“I suppose there’s no way to prove it, but it’s the truth. By the way, the rest of the clan is off fighting for the flight dominance.”

“Flight dominance?”

“You haven’t heard? Then I’ll explain it to you. There are eleven flights: Arcane, Earth, Air, Shadow, Plague, Ice, Wind, Water, Fire, Nature, and Light. The eleven flights are always fighting for dominance over this world; it’s become more of a sport over the centuries. Currently, the Earth flight is dominating, and your clan just left to help the Shadow flight gain dominance.”

“Why hasn’t anyone told me?” Attor asked suspiciously.

“They knew you weren’t up to the challenge, of course.”

Attor was about to protest, but stopped himself; maybe he wasn’t up to the challenge. He wasn’t about to dwell on that possibility though. “So what am I supposed to do while they’re gone?” He asked. Apep shrugged. “Explore?” Attor sighed; he had had enough exploring for the day. Still Apep persisted. “Let’s go to The Ashfall Waste.” Attor didn’t like the sound of that place.

“The Ashfall Waste? Where’s that?” Attor asked.

“It’s just past the Sea of a Thousand Currents. It’s where the fire dragons live, if you hadn’t guessed.”

“What’s the point in going? Why not just stay here?”

“Stay here? Ha!” Apep scoffed. “A true dragon would love the chance to explore. Now I see why Gluarung is so embarrassed to be related to you.”

Attor felt slightly angry, but more afraid, at being laughed at. “Fine! We’ll go to the stupid waste!” He yelled.

Apep seemed satisfied with himself. “Good, then let’s go.”

“Now?”

“Don’t tell me you’re s-s-scared.” Apep jeered.

“Am not! It’s just- It’s getting late. Shouldn’t we wait ‘til morning…?”

“Pssh, how ironic; a shadow dragon afraid of the dark.”

“Just shut up and lead the way.” Attor hissed through gritted teeth.

Apep smiled. “With pleasure.”

As Attor flew into the night, he sighed inwardly, stressed by all the current events. He wanted to confront Nidhug, but if the opportunity presented itself, he would probably flinch and cower away, he found himself flying besides a dragon that his entire being told him to run from or fight, his family, including Chumana, was off fighting for world domination and he had no idea if they would be ok, and now he was flying off to some wasteland across the sea to go on a pointless exploration. The only reason Attor had even come was because he was scared to death of being bullied by Apep as well as Gluarung, and he didn’t want to seem cowardly, even if it were a bit true.

As the three hatchlings crossed over the Sea of a Thousand Currents, Attor remembered Nidhug saying this had been the furthest he had traveled so far. Jeez, my brother really got around. He thought as he struggled for breath. The ocean wind was stirring up quite a bit, bringing up a fog that soaked Attor to the scales; he could see gray clouds dotting the horizon, and the air was humid. He feared a storm. “Hey Apep? Maybe we should turn back.” Attor shouted over the waves, which were beginning to grow restless. Apep shot him a cold stare. “Are you afraid to get a little wet? You’re pathetic.” Attor cast his gaze downward, where he saw the now raging waves. He heard Astarot cry outrageously, “Are you kidding!? There’s going to be a storm! We have to turn back now!” And the fierceness in her eyes worried Attor. Still Apep persisted.

“We’ll be fine; we can always fly over a couple of wallowing waves.”

“That’s not the point! We’ll get seriously sick if we get caught in a storm.” Astarot argued.

“You mean, you’ll get sick. Attor and I can stand a splash of water, unlike you earth dragons.”

“Just shut up! We need to turn around!”

“You can go; no one is stopping you.”

“You can bet your tail we’re leaving. Come on Attor.”

But Attor did not respond. He stared steadily downwards and continued to fly towards the waste.

“Attor?” Astarot said, her amber eyes wide.

“I’m sorry Astarot.” Attor mumbled almost inaudibly over the waves. “But this is something I have to do.”

Astarot stared at him, flying at a steady pace next to his uneven one. “Then I’ll stay by your side.”

Attor was surprised at the depth to her words. He looked at her, only to find her looking back with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “After all, if I’m not around, who will stop you from getting yourself killed? Definitely not this guy.” She said, gesturing to Apep. Attor nodded. His suspicions of Apep still hadn’t died completely. He believed Apep was invited into the clan, but that didn’t mean he was completely trustworthy, though it might just be prejudice Attor was based off of.

***

A few minutes later lightning crashed over their heads, causing Attor to squeal in surprise and take a sharp plummet toward the water before regaining his balance and climbing back up into the sky. Astarot looked at him, her eyes filled with worry and something else. A minute or two had passed when another bolt of lightning flashed, this one so close Attor could feel small amounts of electricity course through his body before fading away with a numbing tingle. Up above, the clouds rolled and thundered, bringing down rain like an iron fist, slamming it into the hatchlings harshly and filling their eyes, ears, and snouts with the substance, half blinding them while also soaking them to the skin. Down below, the waves crashed and hissed, sending up spray like a fountain. The waters were filled with foam and the smell of salt was strong in the air. Mist hung thickly like a veil, giving the hatchlings an even harder time seeing. The hatchlings fought desperately against the elements, pumping their wings and just barely managing to fly in one place. It seemed wherever they tried to fly, the wind would fight against them, sending them spiraling downwards one moment than dangerously close to the rolling thunder clouds another.

Attor shrieked in pain when suddenly a bolt of lightning struck him from above. The lightning jarred his entire being; he lost control of his movement as the electricity pulsed painfully through him .Every bone in his body stiffened, and he began to plummet towards the raging waters below. As he fell, black spots started crowding the corners of his vision, and he could barely make out Astarot diving for him, stretching as far as possible in desperation to stop his rapid descent. He stared blankly, his consciousness fading. Then the shock faded just as quickly as it had arrived, and Attor instinctively tried to spread his wings, only to find they were torn and shredded. He gave out a screech and, looking up at Astarot in desperation, he reached his hand up to her. Astarot folded her wings as tightly as she could to her body, her hands outstretched. She got within reaching distance of Attor and grappled for his flailing arms. Just when it seemed she was going to secure him, an invisible force knocked her to one side, spitting in rage as it dragged her away from Attor.

Attor hit the water. His head went under and he immediately inhaled a mouthful of water. Fear flooded his mind and body as he kicked up frantically, trying to reach the surface. When his head broke the water, he was submerged under another wave, and he began his losing battle against the raging seas. Astarot and Apep were nowhere to be seen, yet he still called to them, his screams drowned out by the howling wind and the black waters. He searched anxiously for a shoreline or anything that could tell him which direction was south, if he got it right, he would only have a mile or two to swim. If he got it wrong, he would surely be drowned from exhaustion if not from the vicious waters. Attor looked wildly in every direction whilst the waves tossed him back and forth, filling his mouth and ears and splashing salt water in his eyes. He was beginning to feel hopeless, the fear starting to overwhelm what senses he had left, when he felt large amounts of water start drawing itself in. He looked on, horrified, as a humongous wave started forming, pulling him in. He swam desperately against the current, but to no avail. With a roar, the giant wave came down on him, hard. His head went under and all went black.

***

Attor woke up with soft waves lapping at his feet. His eyes fluttered open, and he found a round, red and black object directly in front of his face. It was a fire egg. He got up slowly, his body stiff and sore from being electrocuted. He took a look at his surroundings. The obsidian coastline was blanketed in flowing lava and a scalding steam-mist at the water's edge. The land is fluid and soft: an open canvas - unmolded clay needing a crafter's hand. There were no lairs or dragons in sight. He looked back at the egg, where were its parents?

Suddenly remembering the night before, he jerked up from his sitting position and looked around for any signs of Astarot or Apep. He found none. He returned his gaze to the egg once again, this time, he reached out for it. It singed his hand, and he yelped in surprise. He looked around for something to carry it with. He found some seaweed by the water’s edge and, weaving the strands together, he made a makeshift string bag. He picked up the egg gingerly by the tips of his claws, and placed it in the bag. When it made contact with the cool object, steam arose, making a fierce hissing sound as the seaweed was heated up. Just when Attor thought the egg would burn through the seaweed, the hissing stopped, and the egg lay there calmly in the bag. He wrapped the other end of the seaweed around his shoulder and began wandering on the shoreline, looking for Astarot or Apep.

After about an hour, he gave up and began wandering further on land to find some help. He walked for about twenty minutes, and then stopped. Right before him was an incredible sight. Anchored into the thick, glassy obsidian by immense drills, a mighty platform perches over the crater of the continent's largest and most active volcano. The intricate architecture is shrouded in a billowing cloud of ash and acrid smoke, but the glowing lava powering the forge workshop highlights the fire-tinged silhouettes of the furnaces and smelters furthering the Flamecaller's efforts.

He saw some silhouettes on the platform, and he called out to them. They turned towards him, and he sat down and slumped his shoulders in relief; he was rescued. The figures took flight, and flew steadily towards him. He waited. Then the figures were upon him, one was a red male Fae, his wings were darker at the rims. He had a pair of large white fins on his cheeks and he had a white underbelly, he wore a pair of large, pink tinted goggles over his eyes. The other was a male Spiral; he was purple with black stripes marking his whole body. He had blue wings with eye designs on them, and his eyes were sky blue. He had two large horns slacked backwards against his head, and was wearing a silver steampunk scarf. The third was a female Fae; she was violet with amber eyes and grey wings. She was wearing a brown bird skull wing piece and a black arm bow.

“Well well well, what have we here?” The female hissed callously. “A rat washed onshore?”

“Looks like an egg-thief, here to raid our land!” The red Fae pointed accusingly at the egg slung to Attor’s side.

Attor piped up, “No! I’m not a thief! I found this egg on the shoreline!”

“Then what are you doing in our land?” The Spiral demanded.

Attor was at a loss for words. Should he tell the truth and say he had come to explore? These dragons didn’t seem the least bit welcoming, and he doubted they would take kindly to someone nosing around their land. “W-well…I…” He stammered.

The Spiral hissed and swiped at his head. Attor flinched away in shock. The two Fae were joining the Spiral, extending their claws and advancing threateningly. Attor started spluttering words. “I-I-I, I didn’t come to cause trouble!” He said as he dodged a blow from the female. “I-I thought I could-“ He was cut short as the red Fae wacked him in the head with his tail. Attor stumbled to the ground, weak from his recent fight against the sea. “Get out of here!” The female shrieked, swiping at his side. “Leave our land and never come back, worm!”

“I can’t! My wings!” He cried pitifully, spreading his wings to show that they were torn, rendering them useless.

“Then we’ll kill you!” The female hissed back.

Attor dashed away, fear crowding his thoughts and giving speed to his legs. He heard the dragons giving chase behind him, spitting flame and roaring in fury. His feet pattered across the burning stone, and he ran faster, blinded by the burning pain and fear. He felt himself jerked to one side, and he let out a scream only to be silenced by a furry hand. “Shh! It’s me! Astarot! Be quiet!” He looked over his shoulder and saw Astarot’s reassuring face. He calmed down, relieved, and Astarot removed her hand. They were in a well hidden shelter between two boulders. Attor and Astarot pressed themselves against the boulder as they heard the roar of the dragons approaching. Within the next few moments, the three dragons had thundered past, spitting and cursing as they ran. Attor realized he had been holding his breath. He led it out with a gusty sigh. “Thanks.” He said.

“No problem Attor.” She said. “What are you carrying?”

“An egg I found on the shore. It was completely abandoned. The dragons weren’t trying to reclaim it though; they attacked me even though I was still carrying it.”

“That blasted Apep! He planned this out!”

“What?”

“When I was trying to rescue you, he attacked me. He also knew the storm was coming, and that’s why he insisted on leaving when we did. He was hoping we would get lost at sea! And just in case that failed, he made sure we were heading to one of the most dangerous dragon territories. He knew the fire dragons were as hot-headed as the environment around them.”

It took Attor a few moments to let that sink in. He knew Apep was shady, but he didn’t expect him to attempt murder! Astarot continued. “I think Gluarung, whoever he is, put Apep up to this. He is the one who invited Apep, and Apep mentioned Gluarung being embarrassed to be related to you.” He looked at Attor for confirmation. Attor nodded.

“This is something Gluarung would do. He’s an underhanded trickster; it’s just like him to get another dragon to do his dirty work.”

“Then what do we do?”

“I don’t know…” Attor said regretfully. No one was at the lair, only Apep, and maybe Gluarung. Attor thought the worst; what if Gluarung had made a move to destroy everyone in the clan? Gluarung couldn’t defeat Eiko or Longwei, but f he could pull off a trick as dastardly as this one, he might be able to pull it off. He thought of Chumana. What became of her? Maybe he was being overdramatic; Gluarung didn’t hate anyone but Attor. Attor pushed away all these thoughts and focused on their current situation; they were stuck in a foreign terrain surrounded by hostile dragon, with no way to fly home. If they couldn’t fly, they would have to walk, because they certainly couldn’t wait for Attor’s wings to heal. He looked at Astarot, and was surprised to find her staring at him intently. When he caught her gaze, she looked away quickly, then said, “Do you know what we’re going to do?”

“We have to get out of here. We’ll walk.”

“What route are we going to take?”

“Um, well…I don’t know.” Attor admitted. “I was hoping you would have a suggestion.”

“Well, there are two paths we could take; if we traveled northwest, we’d have to go through The Windswept Plateau, and trek though The Scarred Wasteland. Or, we could go northeast and through The Shifting Expanse, from there we’d have to travel through Sunbeam Ruins.”

“Which path is more preferable?”

“Northwest is quicker, but northeast would be safer.”

“How much quicker is northwest?”

“We’d be there two days quicker than if we traveled northeast.”

Attor sighed. All he wanted to do was curl up in his nest and sleep. Yet, Gluarung insisted on making his life difficult, and now he was recruiting little henchmen to assist him and manipulating dragons without them even knowing. He sighed again as he thought of Chumana, his desire for her presence strong. He remembered how she stood up against Gluarung for him last time, and wished for her to do so again. He thought of her saccharine eyes and kind nature, of her voice that was so sweet to his ears. Her sweet voice was not like those of his fellow shadow dragons, the shadow dragons voices were sugar coated in deceit and shrewdness. Chumana’s voice was one of true benevolence and bounteousness, a melody that echoed in his empty heart. He wanted Chumana with every fiber of his being, but where was she now?


	5. Chapter 5

It had been two days since Attor and Astarot had decided to go northeast. They lay cooped up in a canyon they found in the middle of the desert. The large divide was nearly devoid of life, with only the bones and corpses of creatures long dead to remind travelers that the cross is plenty dangerous. Despite the fact that they were in a desert, the temperature was just barely above freezing at night, and they warmed themselves against the fire egg, which glowed faintly in the pale moonlight. Attor sneezed; he had a cold from his swim in the ocean, and Astarot did her best to make him feel comfortable. She hunted for him, helped keep him warm, guided him along easy routes, and generally watched over him. As they stared at the egg, which was placed only inches away from their faces, they noticed for the first time that the egg was covered in cracks and chips in the stone, which could only mean one thing; the egg was close to hatching. Attor had honestly tried to return it, but none of the dragons were friendly, and they ended up having to run for their lives several times before they gave up.

Attor stared at the egg helplessly, it was one thing to try to cross the desert with torn wings, sore muscles, and a cold- but it was another thing to carry a baby dragon. Attor sighed. Would he ever get a break? Attor looked Astarot in the eyes, and she nodded; over the past three days they had spent together, they had grown a certain bond where they could tell what the other wanted to do. Attor wanted to travel as far as possible while the dragon was still within the egg. Astarot grabbed the fireproof bag she had “borrowed” from the fire dragons, and placed the egg inside. She got up and began walking down the canyon, Attor following tiredly after.

They traveled until dawn, whereas Attor collapsed, dead tired. Astarot settled down beside him and watched the sun rise, Bright streaks of red, pink, and orange slowly overcame the darkness of twilight. The sky resembled a prism; all the colors blended with each other perfectly. The sun itself was peaking over the horizon, and its brilliant rays were already beginning to warm the air. Unfortunately, in a few minutes it would be too warm, leading to uncomfortable travel. Astarot settled her head next to Attor, enjoying his presence through these unfortunate events while trying to comfort him. She felt his body tremble with sickness, and a sharp stab of pity went through her. Poor kid. She thought with morose.

Attor was awakened by the sound of fracturing stone. He opened his outer eye and saw the fire egg slowly hatching. He froze, mystified by the process. A furry paw stuck its hand out of the shell, and a moment later a small, writhing body tumbled out. The small figure struggled up on wobbly knees, and then swung its head back and forth curiously. Slowly, it peeked out of its inner eye and turned its gaze towards Attor. It was a male Tundra dragon; he had orange and green fur, his face was orange with a green splotch on his left eye. He had a furry grey mane that ran down his spine in a similar fashion to Astarot’s, and his wings were light grey. Attor stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to do, while the little Tundra proceeded to open his inner eyes. Astarot walked over to the Tundra and wrapped an arm protectively around him. “What should we name him?” She asked, as if he were their son. Attor stared at him; he supposed someone had to name him. He examined him closely, thinking of the thickness of his fur and the depth to his eyes. “Vritra.” He decided. “We will name him Vritra.” Astarot nodded her agreement.

Astarot picked up Vritra and cradled him like a loving mother; Vritra looked at her and said, “I’m hungry.” Attor was surprised. “Can all hatchlings speak so early?” He asked. Astarot seemed confused.

“What do you mean? Most hatchlings can speak at an early age.”

“Oh.” Attor shuffled his feet in embarrassment as he remembered that it had taken him two days to speak.

“Mother, I’m hungry!” Vritra wailed.

“What do Tundra eat?” Attor asked.

“Plants.” Astarot sighed despairingly as she gazed at the desert. Attor stared at the cacti lining the edge of the canyon and wondered if those would do any good.

“I’m hungry!” Vritra cried again.

“Shh, quiet down. We’ll find you something to eat.” Astarot said, casting Attor a helpless glance.

“When? I want to eat now!” Vritra’s cries echoed across the canyon.

“How much further until we get to Sunbeam Ruins?” Attor whispered to Astarot.

“A good mile or two, and Vritra can’t walk that far.” She whispered back.

“Don’t I ever get a break!?” Attor suddenly shouted, making Vritra jump. Vritra teared up and began to wail, his woebegone cries felt like a drill in Attor’s head.

“Apparently not.” Astarot said, smiling half-heartedly.

“Come here, Vritra, climb on my back.” Attor commanded.

“No! I want something to eat!” He screamed.

“Climb on my back and I will take you to eat.” Attor spat each word out like venom, the hot sun of the desert and Vritra’s stubbornness wearing his patience thin.

“No!” Vritra sat down and turned his head away defiantly. “Not until I get something to eat!”

“Are you even listening to me!?” Attor snapped, his patience gone.

Vritra squealed and ran for cover behind Astarot, saying, “Dad is not nice…”

“I’m not your-!” Attor began, but a cold stare from Astarot stopped him.

“How about I carry him?” Astarot suggested quietly.

“That’s the first good idea you had all day!” Astarot snarled.

Astarot flinched, the hurt showing in her eyes. Attor softened his gaze and manner. “I’m sorry, Astarot; that’s not fair. All you’ve done is help me while I’ve been nothing but a burden.” He cast his head down in shame.

“It’s ok Attor; you’ve been through a lot.”

Attor didn’t respond; he kept his gaze steadily downwards. He felt Astarot place her forehead gently against his. Slowly, he looked up and into her wide, amber eyes. They were brimmed with concern and deep with compassion. He returned her steady gaze with an uncertain one, his eyes clouded with mostly fear and confusion, but deep down there was something more, deep down there was a hatchling who thirsted for treasure and adventure, a hatchling who was tainted by misery and disappointment. Astarot’s optimistic, cheerful soul reached out to Attor, and for a moment, he let it engulf him. He felt safe within the presence of Astarot, he felt as if nothing could ever go wrong, he felt the need to once again spread his wings with Astarot at his side.

The urge was so strong that he actually began to spread his wings, but upon feeling them stretch and tear, he remembered with a jolt his injuries from three days before. As he opened his eyes he realized Vritra had fallen dramatically on the floor and was wailing his heart out, and the desert sun was still radiating mercilessly from above. He sighed and pulled away from Astarot, who looked hurt and confused in turn. “Just carry Vritra, please.” He said, dragging his feet as he prepared his long journal to Sunbeam Ruins. Astarot silently obeyed him, picking up Vritra and promising him food where they were going.

***

In a few seemingly endless hours, Attor, Astarot, and Vritra arrived in Sunbeam Ruins. They were worn out and exhausted; even Vritra had grown tired of his constant screaming, and was now sleeping soundly on Astarot’s back. Attor looked forward to friendly company. The light dragons must be kind. He thought. They took a few steps into the meadow and were immediately greeted by a weak, fragile, female arcane dragon. She was a Mirror Dragon, just like Attor, with a light blue masked face and dark blue wings; the rest of her body was ghost white. She was covered in battle wounds, her throat was bitten and torn in multiple places and her left back leg was missing completely. She reached a shaky hand out to them. “Pl…Plagh…Please….” She rasped through her torn throat. “Sss...Sa…save…ma…bay…bees” She hacked up several clout of blood, and then let her head drop with a sickening thud. The thud woke up Vritra, who asked. “Wha-what? Are we there yet, mother?” His voice was still slurred with sleep. “No, no. Go back to sleep.” Astarot responded, trying to sound casual during her fear of Vritra seeing the gruesome sight. Vritra simply placed his head back down in her warm fur and began to snore.

“What did she say?” Attor asked, thoroughly terrified.

“I think she said ‘Save my babies’” Astarot said, looking around urgently. “I think I hear something coming from that way.”

Without waiting for Attor, she took off in the direction she had referred to. Attor sighed, muttering again, “Don’t I ever get a break?” And then followed. They ran through the large expanse of meadow and through crumbling buildings, Vritra somehow managing to stay asleep through the bumpy ride. They came across a river, which Astarot leapt in one bound, using her wings to glide the rest of the distance. Attor slide to a stop inches in front of the river; it was too far for him to jump across. He looked on helplessly as Astarot continued her flight, not noticing Attor had been left behind. He looked around for a bridge or something to cross. He walked along the river bank, but found no way across. Of course there wasn’t a bridge; why would a dragon need a bridge? Attor sat down, defeated, and stared off in the distance. A few minutes had passed when he heard some squealing coming from the other side of the river. He perked up and saw two hatchlings, one was a Sky blue Mirror dragon and the other was a light brown Tundra dragon with dark blue wings and a dark blue mane.

The hatchlings eyes were wild with panic; they ran to the edge of the river, almost toppling in. They squealed in terror and looked up and down the river bank, obviously looking for a way to cross. “There isn’t a way across.” Attor shouted to them from the other side. Their eyes met his, and for a moment he felt their horror and desperation to escape. He was on his feet in the next second, calling them to follow. He ran down the bank, the hatchlings following on the other side. They came to a part in the river where the gap between the two sides wasn’t as wide, but it still was too far to jump. The hatchlings watched Attor attentively, waiting for him to tell them what to do. Attor scanned the bank once again and found a crumbing pillar nearby. He sprinted to it and, using his hind legs, he pushed the pillar with all his might. He heard a thunderous sound coming from the other side and the hatchlings’ terrified screams. With a heave, Attor knocked over the pillar, and it landed with a crash on the other side of the river. He got up, panting, and was immediately knocked back over by the crossing hatchlings. They clung to him tightly, trembling. He heard a roar, and a giant shadow fell across him. He looked up and saw a lightning dragon hovering over them.

It gave another mighty roar and swooped down on them, strong electrical currents emanating from it. Before Attor could get a good look at it, it swooped again, this time grazing the Mirror hatchling, sending her flying back a few feet. She lay down in silent terror, her hands shielding her head. Attor quickly scooped up the two hatchlings and ran for it. He heard a burst of flame from above and the lightning dragon’s screech. He looked up to see it locked into combat with a light dragon, the two spitting flame and roaring in fury. Several more shadows fell across the valley, and then Attor realized the light and lightning dragons were having a full out battle. He looked for a place to take cover, whereupon he found a half crumbled building. The roof was completely gone, but the walls were still intact. He quickly shoved the hatchlings against one of the walls and had them duck for cover. It wasn’t until the hatchlings were safely tucked against the wall that Attor remembered Astarot.

Attor peeked around the corner of his shelter in search of Astarot. He saw the sky filled with dragons of every element. Attor couldn’t discriminate any sides to the battle; it seemed it was every element for itself. A fire dragon landed right besides Attor’s hiding place, and he couldn’t help but give out a squeal of surprise when he realized it was the same red Fae dragon he had encountered at The Ashfall Waste. The Fae was fighting a Tundra from the nature flight. The Tundra looked huge and threatening with its great mane. It roared and slashed, leaving no opening and missing none. The Fae lashed the Tundra once with its tail, missed, and then flew away, roaring in frustration. The Tundra cried victoriously, and then turned to face its next opponent; a Snapper ice dragon. Attor saw no sign of Astarot. Suddenly he heard a smooth, snide voice close by. “Ha! That’s right! Run away worm! Run away!” It was Gluarung’s voice. A Skydancer dragon leapt right over Attor’s head and kept running. Gluarung jumped over in pursuit, but stopped as he landed, gloating. “You are no match for the shadow dragons! Darkness will rule this world!” He turned around and saw Attor. He seemed surprised to see his little brother, whom he thought he had killed.

“What are you doing here, you little rat?” He snarled.

“What’s the matter? Are you upset your plan to kill me failed?” Attor spat.

Gluarung was on him in an instant; his rancid breath stunk of blood and raw meat. “I think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.” He snarled viciously in his ear. Gluarung pressed his claws against Attor’s throat, driving the breath out of him. The hatchlings cried in fear, getting Gluarung’s attention. “Well well well, what do we have here?” He advanced towards them maliciously. “Protecting the enemies? Just because they can’t protect themselves? Pathetic.” He picked up the Mirror dragon by the throat, causing it to cry out in terror. Gluarung smiled wickedly, deliberately showing his teeth to the hatchling.

“This one reminds me of you.” Gluarung told Attor. “Always relying on someone else, too weak or too cowardly to fight back.”

Attor watched in silence.

“This.” Gluarung said, pointing at the hatchling with a clawed hand. “Is the enemy. Do you know what we do to enemies?”

“Gluarung-“Attor coughed. “Don’t.”

Gluarung scoffed. “You’re so weak; it makes me sick.”

Gluarung raked his claws down the hatchlings stomach, blood spilling from its stomach. She gave a shrill cry, kicking frantically as her sister gnawed at Gluarung’s feet. Gluarung clutched her tightly as her life blood was drained, staring at Attor meaningfully. The Tundra hatchling wailed in distress as she realized her sister was dead. In one swift movement, Gluarung picked her up and snapped her neck, tossing her limp body aside in satisfaction. Attor was appalled. He stared at his brother speechlessly, his mouth agape.

“Much better; no more nuisances.” Gluarung said, walking away. “Make yourself useful, and go get yourself killed; the wind flight is dominating and you’re making us look bad.”

Attor said nothing, merely watched him go. For awhile Attor lay there, concealed in his hiding place, staring at the dead bodies. He was dimly aware of the battle cries retreating, of dusk slowly setting, of Astarot’s warmth embracing him as she carried him solemnly to Eiko, who in turn placed him on her back. Attor stared blankly into the distance as his clan surrounded him and took flight, back to his home in The Tangled Wood.


	6. Chapter 6

When Attor finally arrived home, his mother Eiko questioned him on multiple things such as where he had been, and if he was hurt, which he absentmindedly answered. When Eiko’s questions were over, Nidhug selfishly forced Attor to look at his hoard. This actually peeked Attor’s interest slightly, for Nidhug had gathered many things from across the land. First, Nidhug showed Attor his chess pieces; all he needed was a white queen, and he would have the full set. Next Nidhug showed him his scroll cases; most of them were empty but the cases were in pristine condition. Nidhug proceeded to show him a copper pocket watch, which he deemed one of his favorites, a burnished gold ring, complimented with an illustrious ruby, a heavy Earthshaker idol, an exotic Arcanist idol, a sea scorpion fossil, an ornate porcelain jar, half-moon spectacles, and finally, a gladiator’s war horn.

Attor noticed something in the back; it looked like some kind of orb. He reached for it, and when he touched it, wisps of smoke began to swim under the surface of the dark stone, becoming more tangible the longer he touched it. Nidhug noticed him and smacked Attor’s hand away, saying it was one of his most precious trinkets and he didn’t want a nincompoop carelessly breaking it. Attor left the hoard and went straight for his nest, but he was stopped by Chumana. She shuffled uneasily in front of him, embarrassed of something. “I heard about what happened to you while we were out.” She said. Attor wondered what she was referring to. She glanced away uneasily. “I heard Apep lead you into a trap; but you got out ok, so that’s good.” Attor still couldn’t understand why she was being so self-conscious; she never had trouble speaking to anyone before.

“Yeah, it was a long, hard journey, but Astarot and I made it out ok.” He said.

“Eiko is thinking about kicking him out, but Gluarung is defending him.”

“What will happen if he gets kicked out?”

“What do you mean?”

It was then Attor realized Chumana didn’t share the same suspicions of Apep as he did. “Nothing. Forget it.” He said quickly.

There was a couple moments of silence, and then Chumana said. “Do you want to walk with me? I know you’re sore, and if you don’t want to that’s fine-“

“No, I do!” Attor realized he had been a bit hasty.

“Ok, let’s go.” Chumana said, grabbing his hand and walking towards the exit.

Attor was sore, tired, hungry, thirsty, and injured, but when he walked out of the lair with Chumana at his side, he felt active and light-hearted. Chumana seemed excited as she walked outside, and she immediately headed for a certain direction, leading him deeper and deeper into the dank woods.

“Chumana, where are we going?” Attor asked as she tugged him along the uneven trail.

“You’ll see soon.” She said eagerly.

Attor felt uneasy walking out at such a late hour with no one but Chumana trouble arrived. And, knowing Attor’s luck, something bad was bound to happen. As the moon settled high above their heads, the strange, glowing mushrooms began gathering light, casting a faint glow in the darkness. The path they were walking was lined with these mushrooms, and Attor felt himself relax as he watched them sway calmly in the gentle breeze.  
Suddenly, they stopped. Chumana had led him to a small clearing surrounded by blue, glowing mushrooms. They pulsed with light and energy, indifferent from the rest of the forest. The pale moonlight shone through the branches of the withering trees, casting a faint light in the damp clearing. Attor marveled at the sight; it was so different from the rest of the forest.

“What do you think?” Chumana asked.

“It’s wonderful.” Attor replied.

Chumana seemed pleased. “This is the most beautiful place I could find in the grove.” She looked at him, and the glow of the mushrooms caught in her hazel eyes. She walked over to a patch of mushrooms and studied one delicately. “Do you know what makes the mushrooms glow?” She asked.

Attor stared at her, unable to look away, captivated by her beauty as her features were lit by the mysterious mushrooms. She giggled as she saw the way he was looking at her. “I hear it’s magic.” She continued.

“Magic?”

“That’s right. Magic is one of the few true wonders of the world.”

“Other than you?” Attor complimented, and then felt silly afterwards.

Chumana laughed good-naturedly, drawing close to Attor. “Magic binds the world together using force we cannot understand, but it comes so naturally, like breathing. It is truly wonderful; it weaves the fabrics of time and space, and also…it draws people together.” The hint in her voice was so subtle Attor almost missed it. His heartbeat pulsed faster as Chumana drew even closer, her scales rubbing on his. He felt the longing for her, felt it in every fiber of his being. He looked down at Chumana, and was immensely pleased to find her looking back at him affectionately. He wrapped her in an embrace, and she returned it, looking at him with her dazzling eyes. Attor stared at her a moment longer, when Chumana suddenly leaned forward and kissed him. Attor hesitated, and then melded in with the kiss, feeling the emptiness in his heart fill with satisfaction as his longings were finally granted. He felt Chumana pressed so close to him, her arms and wings wrapped in a firm embrace, their tails entwined. The warmth of her body seeped life back into his cold tormented one, giving him the will to live on his feet and fly on his wings. She started to pull away, and he pulled her back in, reluctant to leave her warm embrace. “No.” He whispered. “Don’t leave me alone.” And there were tears at his cheeks. Without saying another word, Chumana took him back in, soothing him as he clung to her tightly, unwilling to ever let his only light escape him.

***

The next morning Attor and Chumana were the proud parents of two eggs. Astarot tried to look happy, but it was obvious she was very upset. Eiko and Gluarung were proud of Attor and they congratulated him. Eiko led Chumana to the nesting grounds and provided her a stone fertility statue. Statues like this are often given to matriarchs and mothers in hope that their hatchlings develop strong and able. Many clans keep one in each nest for luck. Attor was overwhelmed at the prospect of becoming a father, but at the same time he was excited to take on the challenge with Chumana. He lay by her side in the nest, feeling the vibrations of her breathing, the warmth he had come to know and love. He kept her close at all times, making a show at how good of a father her would be, when- in truth, if Gluarung had challenged him he would have fled with his tail between his legs. Attor didn’t plan on leaving the lair much anymore; he had wings to heal and he wanted to stay with Chumana.

One time, when Attor left the nest to bring Chumana some food, Astarot stopped him and pulled him aside to talk; she seemed irritated. “Could you tell your stupid brother to leave me alone already!?” She yelled.

“Who? Gluarung? No, sorry. You know I can’t-“

“Not Gluarung! Nidhug!”

“Nidhug? What’s he doing?”

“He keeps trying to force me to listen to his stupid speeches about history and look at his dull hoard full of scraps and rubble.”

“S-sorry. I can’t help you there; Nidhug likes to show off his hoard, even if it is just a bunch of junk.”

“But he keeps following me! It’s annoying as heck; could you please just try and talk to him?”

Attor nodded. Unsure if he would even carry out that promise.

“Thank you.” Astarot sighed in slight relief. “And by the way- your son wants to know why you don’t play with him.” She gestured quickly to Vritra sitting in a corner and then left.

Attor sighed. Of course, who was he kidding? He was never going to get a break. He trudged over to Vritra. “Hi.” He said half-heartedly.

“Why don’t you ever play with me father!?” Vritra wailed.

“I’m really busy and-“

“All you ever do is play with that dragon!” He pointed an accusing finger at Chumana, who had temporarily left the nest to fetch some food herself. “Do you love her more than me?” He cried despairingly. Yes. Attor thought, though he didn’t let himself say it out loud.

“Listen Vritra, daddy has eggs to help look out for, so-“

“Eggs?” Vritra interrupted again. “Why do you have eggs?”

Attor realized his mistake too late. “Well I-“

“Those aren’t my siblings, so who are they?”

This was spinning out of control fast. “Listen to me, Vritra!”

Vritra stared at him coldly. “You’re not my father- are you?”

Attor stared at him, dumbfounded. How had he figured it out so fast? Vritra was starting to tear up; his face was bright red and he was choking on his words. “Are you!?” He screamed. Apep looked up from his meal in confusion, staring at the devastated hatchling. Attor swallowed.

“Vritra…” He began.

“Where’s my father!?” He shrieked, not even trying to control his anger.

“Your father is…”

“Where!?”

“I don’t know!” Attor roared, baring his fangs.

Vritra snarled back. “I hate you! You jerk! Go and die!”

Now Vritra had everyone’s attention. Eiko barged in; demanding to know what was going on. Vritra turned to everyone who had come to investigate. “All of you- go and DIE!” He screamed until his throat must have torn. He took off running full flight. Everyone turned to look at Attor, their eyes questioning. Astarot stared at him, disappointed. She walked up to him and whispered so only he could hear. “All I wanted to do- was share something with you. That’s all.” Attor felt anger but mostly desolation well up inside him. “I can’t pretend I love anyone. Not for him and not for you.” Astarot was stung. She stared at him as if she didn’t recognize him, and then fled. Attor didn’t realize what those words meant to her, and he was left feeling confused and vilified.

Chumana placed a hand gently on his shoulder and guided him back to the nest. Attor curled up in the nest with Chumana and his eggs and fell back into seclusion. He felt the familiar dream-crushing depression fall back onto his shoulders, but this time, something was different. He felt overwhelmed and worried- yes, but he didn’t feel hopeless, which was new to him. He searched his subconscious, which was usually tainted with regret and despair, and he found light. He pondered on where this light came from, utterly confused at the lack of self pity and anguish. Then, with a start, he remembered Chumana and what she had shared with him a couple nights before. Her warm presence had stayed with him, and he found that he could lean on her when he felt lost and depressed. He opened his eyes and looked at Chumana. She was watching him peacefully, the eggs wrapped in a protective embrace. He felt a rush of emotion as he looked at her, as if he was falling in love with her all over again. She smiled at him, and it warmed his heart. He felt his worries of Vritra vanish, as well as any other concern he had. The only thing that existed was him, Chumana, and their two eggs.

***

Attor walked to the market the next day; he was going to buy something for Chumana. Attor walked the entire distance to the market, for his wings were not yet healed. However, he didn’t mind the exercise; after Chumana saved him from suffering depression, he was glad to get her something in return. He wanted to buy her something special that she could wear, so he went to the apparel shop and began his search. He got the gold from Nidhug, who had given it to him on the account that Attor leave him alone. He searched for well over an hour when finally his eyes settled on a grey wizard hat. It was a floppy, dusk-colored hat, powdered with dust from years of sitting unused. What mystical energies still sit beneath its brim? Attor wondered. Attor purchased the hat and made the long trek back to Driftwood Drag. He didn’t usually see much on the road; his home always seemed so isolated, so he didn’t expect to see a Skydancer dragon sitting in the middle of the path on his way back. He stopped, gazing at the dragon curiously. She was female, and barely mature. She had black feathers covering the majority of her body and grey wings. She had a sort of black gem or pearl on her head, and violet eyes, suggesting she was born a shadow dragon. Attor was weary of her, even though she was a few weeks younger than him and clearly had no fighting experience. Not that he had much either.

“Hello.” She said in a clear, silky voice that could only be made by the tricksters of The Tangled Wood. “Are you a part of Eiko’s clan?”

“Yes.” He answered.

“Then may I ask a favor of you?” She tilted her head quizzically.

Her manner was unlike any Attor had seen from a hatchling; when she spoke, she showed signs of the same intelligence as Nidhug, however the way she held herself implied that she was no more than a hatchling. It must be her breed. Attor thought. “What do you need?” Attor asked.

“I have a request to join Eiko’s clan; could you perhaps send her a message?”

“Who are you?”

She bowed, and then said, “I am Pandora, daughter of Delsious of The Viridian Labyrinth and Prognostica of The Tangled Wood.”

“I see.”

“Will there be a problem in sending my request? Is Eiko busy at the moment?”

“No, it should be fine. I’m her son.”

“Ah, so you must be quite the formidable dragon.”

“Um…Not really…”

“Please, don’t be modest.”

“I’m not…”

“Anyhow, if Eiko accepts my request, I am currently living in Foxfire Bramble, so you may find me there.”

“Or you could just- follow me and I’ll take you to Eiko…”

“Really? Eiko allows strangers into her lair without first being notified?” Pandora asked, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Well, y-yes. She doesn’t see anyone from The Tangled Wood as a stranger though.”

“Oh, I see. She is indeed an open-minded one, isn’t she?”

“You could say that…”

“I have decided to accompany you; shall we be on our way then?”

“Sure.”

He walked around Pandora and continued along the overgrown trail that would lead him to the lair, Pandora pattering at his shoulder. For the most part they traveled in silence, Pandora seemed to know her way around and navigated her way into Driftwood Drag with ease. Only when they reached the center of Driftwood Drag did Pandora slow her pace, oblivious as to where the lair was. Just before Attor parted the veil of fungi and mushrooms, allowing Pandora inside, she turned to him and locked gazes. “Darkness lies ahead of you. You will find yourself on the brink of destruction and emotional distraught in a few days time.” And then she went inside without another word. Attor blinked. Emotional distraught? That couldn’t be. Now that he had Chumana, he would never again feel self pity or utter misery. He tried to shrug her words off, but they stuck persistently in his mind.

Attor didn’t even bother leading Pandora to Eiko; Eiko was in the lair and Pandora seemed to recognize her. Attor went straight to the nest where he found Chumana, still wrapped protectively around their eggs. She perked up when she heard him enter. “Welcome back.” She said, giving him a warm smile. “Where have you been?” Attor smiled back and said, “Close your eyes.”

“A surprise?” Chumana asked gleefully. “I love surprises.”

“You don’t get anything if you don’t close your eyes.” Attor teased.

Chumana gave him an affectionate look, and then obediently closed her eyes. Attor pulled the wizard hat from the folds of his wings, and he lowered it onto her head. She blinked open her eyes and clutched the hat curiously with one hand. “What’s this?” She asked.

“A wizard hat.” Attor responded. “I know you like magic so I thought…”

He paused as he saw Chumana remove the hat and study it carefully. She turned it at different angles, as if she thought there was something hidden inside. “Don’t you like it?” Attor asked worriedly. What if she rejected it? Chumana seemed to snap out of a trance.

“Of course! I love it; I think I can feel magic radiating off of it.”

“Really? I thought it might have some magic, y’know- because it was a wizard’s.”

“It was really thoughtful of you to get this for me. Thank you.”

“No- thank you. You’ve helped me a lot in just the past few days; you’ve helped me feel like I’m not completely hopeless and pathetic. A-and, you’ve made me feel wanted when all I’ve ever known is rejection.” He took a shaky breath as he waited for Chumana to respond. She looked at him for a moment, placed the hat on her head, and leaned forward to give him a peck on the cheek.

“That’s really sweet of you, Attor. I’m glad I was able to help you; it makes me happy to see you happy, and I hope we can continue to help each other.”

Attor was relieved. He felt a bit guilty for doubting Chumana, but in the end he was glad she had come through for him. He leaned toward her, hesitated, and then planted a kiss on her forehead. Chumana leaned on Attor and slowly closed her eyes, sighing.

He heard someone enter the nesting grounds and turned to see Pandora. Pandora marched straight towards the nest and told Attor he had to leave for a moment. Attor didn’t protest, he simply slinked away obediently. He felt ashamed for being afraid of Pandora, but something about that little dragon unsettled him. Pandora wasn’t unsettling in a dangerous way; she was unsettling in a mysterious, stare-into-your-soul kind of way. He waited anxiously just outside the nest. He saw Vritra from across the lair, staring him down, but he barely noticed; he was too busy waiting for Pandora to leave.

A few minutes had passed when suddenly Chumana’s voice rose in distress. It sounded like she was arguing with Pandora. “You’re wrong! You’re wrong! That can never happen!” She was screaming. A few moments passed, apparently Pandora was responding, and then Chumana said, “No! I don’t believe you! Get out! Out!” There was the sound of beating wings and a moment later Pandora walked calmly out of the nesting grounds. She locked eyes with Attor.

“You two are only going to end up hurting each other. I’d recommend you turn away before things get messy.”

And then she walked away. Attor, scared for Chumana, rushed into the nest to find her sobbing. He shivered. How could such a small hatchling cause so much stress on an easy-going dragon like Chumana? He was at her side quickly, self-consciously patting her back and nervously telling her it was alright. Attor didn’t seem to be helping much, but Chumana regained herself. When Attor asked what had happened, she answered, “She thinks she knows things, but she doesn’t!” And then she sorrowfully wiped at her face, laid her head down, and fell asleep. Her grip on the eggs seemed tighter, Attor realized. What had this dragon told Chumana to wear her out so? Attor thought about confronting her, but immediately decided against it. Pandora’s messages were ominous and eerie, and the worst part was- there seemed to be truth to them. He couldn’t explain it, but something about Pandora’s warnings put him on edge, as if dark prophecy she spoke would come true. Pandora was a strange dragon indeed.


	7. Chapter 7

Attor was woken up by the smell of death. He jerked up and immediately cowered into a corner, eyes darting around frantically. The lair was being invaded by plague dragons. Attor saw Nidhug and Longwei locked into battle nearby, but he didn’t recognize anyone else. The lair was almost swarming with plague dragons, the scent of death and decay overpowering. Attor shrank into the corner and watched, horrified, as the plague dragons raided their dens and battled shadow dragons fiercely outside. It sounded as if every shadow clan were fighting to their extreme, the once dark and silent woods now bursting with flame and the roars of raging dragons.

It wasn’t until a minute or two of fighting had passed that Attor even thought to look for Chumana or his eggs. He rigidly crept from the corner, sliding his hands gently across the stone floor and stealthily making his way towards the nesting grounds. His small size gave him a great advantage in this manner, and Attor managed to make it to the nesting grounds without being seen. Surprisingly, no one was there. It seemed as if the plague dragons hadn’t thought to check behind the large cluster of boulders. Then Attor realized Chumana wasn’t in the nest, and he began searching every corner of the cave, until he found a huddled figure in the corner clutching two eggs tightly. Attor slumped his shoulders in relief and gave Chumana a nudge. She looked up fearfully, but when she recognized Attor she sighed in respite.

“Chumana, are the eggs ok?” He asked.

“Yes, they haven’t found this place yet, but they’re undoubtedly looking for it.” She answered.

“Why are the plague dragons attacking us anyways?”

“They want world dominance, of course. So they’ve decided to raid every shadow clan and kill their eggs and hatchlings.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s a typical plague dragon strategy. I saw one once, when I was back in my home land. Back then I was the target though; it was terrifying then and it’s terrifying now.”

“Wait, will Vritra be safe? Where is he?”

“No hatchling is safe, and I think he ran off with Pandora and Apep.”

Attor froze. The same cold suspicion of that former plague dragon sent shivers down his spine. Added onto that, the mysterious Pandora was with him, along with Vritra who was obviously in spite of Attor. Chumana didn’t seem to be worried about those three mysteriously running off together during an attack, but then again, maybe there wasn’t a reason to. Chumana noticed his unsettlement.

“What’s wrong? You don’t think they’re in danger, do you?”

“I think WE are.”

Chumana was obviously confused, but she didn’t pursue the matter. Instead, she changed the subject. “Do you think the plague dragons are winning?” She asked.

But Attor was subdued. His head was swarming with suspicion of Apep. Could it really be just a coincidence that plague dragons, of all dragons, attacked their lair after Apep disappeared? Attor realized he was jumping to conclusions since he didn’t actually know when Apep left. He was frustrated with himself for not paying attention to what was going on in the lair. He suddenly thought of Apep’s crimson eyes, those bright, crimson eyes that haunted him with a painful familiarity. Attor racked his brain, trying to remember where he had seen those eyes before. He thought for awhile but he couldn’t seem to remember. All this time Chumana had let him think quietly, staring at the entrance to the nesting grounds and flinching whenever she heard a ruckus just beyond the hidden entrance.

Two or three hours had passed and still the battle gave no signs of letting up. The roars were just as loud, the flashes of crimson light just as frequent, and soon Attor and Chumana grew restless. Attor never even considered trying to escape, and even if he had, he would have preferred hiding. Attor snuggled with Chumana comfortably and began to dose despite the constant background noise. He felt his eyelids droop closed ever so slowly, until finally he fell asleep, Chumana’s rhythmic breathing soothing him further into sleep.

Attor was jostled awake by Chumana’s sudden screams of anger. He jumped up and saw a Wildclaw plague dragon snapping savagely at her eggs, jumping in quickly and then sprinting just out of reach. Chumana noticed he was awake and cried for help. Attor froze. He stared at the enemy for two seconds, and then bolted out of the nesting grounds in terror. When Attor left the grounds, he instantly regretted his decision; several plague dragons noticed him leave and found the entrance to the nesting grounds. Before he could move, Attor was knocked aside by a surging crowd of plague dragons, who made their way into the nesting grounds, heading directly for his eggs. He was about to follow and try to stop them, but again he froze, and this time he bolted out of the lair all together.

Attor realized it was quiet outside. It seemed the other clans had stopped fighting, save for a few. As he sat outside, heart still beating frantically, he was submerged in fierce guilt; he had left his mate and eggs to die. How could he have done that? What kind of dragon was he, who was too afraid to stand up for his clan, let alone his mate? He looked back at the entrance to the lair, thought about going in, then decided against it. Chumana was probably dead. Even if she wasn’t, Attor wouldn’t be able to help. Attor despaired over his cowardice and the loss of his unborn hatchlings. In the middle of his new found self-pity and regret, he heard a branch snap, and he looked up to see Apep. Apep’s crimson eyes gleamed eerily from the darkness when they spotted Attor, sending a chill down his spine. Behind Apep was a giant, black plague dragon, dark as midnight. All of Attor’s blood turned to ice as he saw the large dragon’s single, crimson eye; the other had been gouged out. This was the dragon he fought in Willow Wisp Grove.

“Well, well, well- What have we here?” The dragon rasped. “You’re the little punk who ran off crying in the middle of our encounter, how rude of you.”

The truth hit Attor like a brick to the face; this was Apep’s father. Apep’s father had him earn the trust of Attor’s clan, and then sneak the plague clan into their lair. It made sense, but where did Gluarung fit in this picture? Attor knew Gluarung had invited Apep, but could it be that Gluarung actually planned this attack? His thoughts were interrupted by a searing pain in his side and his head hitting the floor. Attor was pinned and bleeding before he knew what was happening. Apep watched from the shadows, his eyes full of- guilt?

“Now I can pay you back for my eye.” The plague dragon’s rancid breath made Attor flinch.

The black dragon bared its fangs against Attor’s throat, slavering and glinting menacingly in the moonlight. The black dragon’s one eye gleamed in satisfaction as Attor squirmed helplessly against his greater weight. Attor was completely engulfed in fear, kicking out and writhing in a futile attempt to escape. The black dragon pinned Attor down, his fangs held above him in suspense; the dragon was making good on tormenting Attor, savoring his suffering like the bloodthirsty beast he was.

Attor struggled until he had worn himself out. The franticness of his thrashing slowed as exhaustion took over, and he finally let himself go limp, defeated. The black dragon smiled a toothy grin, satisfied. Attor stared as the dragon finally prepared to strike Attor down forever. Suddenly the black dragon’s eye widened and blood started dripping from his mouth onto Attor’s face; a large chest wound had split open with no discernible cause. An invisible force pulled Attor out from underneath the dragon seconds before he collapsed. Apep’s eyes widened in disbelief and fear, his gaze directed behind Attor. Attor spun around and came face to face with Pandora.

“I warned you dark times were ahead of you, yet you dismissed my caveat.”

“I…I…Thank you.” Attor stammered.

“You.” Pandora addressed Apep. “I saved you from your father’s rule, now you are in my debt.”

Apep nodded slowly, as if he couldn’t believe Pandora had actually managed to slay his father. Attor was incredulous as well, how had Pandora killed him? She definitely didn’t physically attack him, it looked as if it was…magic? Pandora turned back to Attor.

“Don’t forget what I told you. You have much more misfortune lying ahead of you.”

Attor nodded wordlessly, somehow convinced that she was right. She turned suddenly, signaling for Apep and Attor to follow. The two dragons followed without hesitation, neither one of them looking the other in the eye. Pandora strode inside the dragon lair, seemingly confident no dangers waited. The lair was ravaged, nests were destroyed, walls caved in, and a good portion of the clan’s hoard was missing. Attor’s eyes widened in dismay as he looked at the devastation around him. He started feeling anxious as he wondered about Chumana and his unborn children’s well-being. Pandora marched straight towards the nesting grounds and stopped at the entrance, gesturing for Attor to enter.

“Enter. Chumana wants to speak to you now, I would think.” She said.

Attor flinched as he remembered abandoning her when she needed him most. He slowly entered the nesting grounds, head cast downwards, feet and tail dragging in shame. He lifted his head and saw Chumana staring at him, her face scrunched up in consternation. She tried to speak, choked up, paused, and tried again.

“Why?” She barely managed, her voice trembling.

Attor absolutely hated seeing her hurt like this, and he hated knowing that it was his fault. He had betrayed her trust and faith. He promised to protect her, and that he would be brave, and did the opposite.

“I’m so sorry.” Attor whispered. “I was scared.”

As the words came out, Attor hung his head back down, ashamed and embarrassed.

“I was scared too, Attor.” She said, and the weight in her voice forced Attor to look her in the eyes. “…So scared…”

Attor wanted nothing more than to cradle Chumana and his eggs and protect them, but he knew he couldn’t, and Chumana knew it too. Chumana paused as if she couldn’t bring herself to speak any longer, when her gaze suddenly fixed on something behind him. Attor turned and saw Pandora staring Chumana down intensely, as if she were urging Chumana to say what was on her mind. Chumana reluctantly turned her gaze back to Attor, her eyes sad.

“Attor, I… I mean, Pandora… Pandora told me something. At first I didn’t want to believe but now-“ She broke off.

“Wh-what is it?” He asked.

“I don’t think you are fit to raise our children.” She finally managed.

“Wh-what!? Why!? I am fit!” He protested, though he didn’t believe it himself.

“Listen, this isn’t easy…I just- I want the best for both of us.” She said, casting a quick glance over to Pandora.

“B-but…Who is going to be their father?”

“Well, I had a dragon in mind…”

It was then that Nidhug strode into the room, wrapping a firm arm around Chumana. Chumana turned away from Attor, unable to meet his forlorn stare.

“Try to understand Attor.” She said. “You’re just not…strong enough.”

Attor flinched. “I know.”

Nidhug glared at Attor contemptuously. “Why don’t you leave now? You’re an utter disgrace and you should be ashamed to show your face around her.”

Attor felt a lump form in his throat, but he managed not to shed any tears. He started to turn away, but just then Nidhug blasted his hide with flame, causing him to yelp in surprise as his flesh was scorched. He turned back around, but Nidhug showed his teeth and sent Attor scurrying away. Pandora caught Attor’s eye as he left the nest.

For the first time in several days, Attor slept by himself in his own nest, which had been all but completely trampled by the recent battle. He wondered briefly why he was always ending up in this same desolate state, always depressed. He closed both his inner and outer eye, and fell into a deep, dreamless, sleep.

***

Attor slept for four days straight. When he woke, most of the lair had been repaired. It was more than likely due to Eiko’s leadership that the repairs had been done so quickly. Attor didn’t even bother stretching; he simply rolled off his nest and lumbered out into the main den. He saw Vritra, Gluarung, and Apep gathered in a corner eating. They were whispering to each other in hushed tones while Apep glanced uneasily about. It couldn’t be more obvious to Attor that they were scheming something, but at the moment he didn’t care. He went outside hoping for some fresh air, only to be greeted by the thick veil of darkness and mildew that made up the majority of the forest. On top of that, the trees were still ravaged from the struggle a few nights ago. He sighed and lay down, ignoring the stench of the bog. His gaze wondered up to the sky, and thoughts of running away crossed his mind. He loved the wind and the sunshine, so maybe he could join the wind flight or the light flight? He sighed again. That was a pleasant thought, but if his own flight didn’t accept him, how would others? The only reason Attor wasn’t kicked out or sold yet was because his mother was the leader of his clan.

He was staring off into the distance, his mind blank, when something landed on his face. He jerked upwards in recoil, sending the object spiraling. As it landed it gave out a squeak and got up on wobbly legs. It was a black and yellow fae hatchling. She looked up at him indignantly.

“Hey mister, that really hurt!” She cried.

“S-sorry…” Attor mumbled.

“What are you doing now, slow-poke? Have you given up?” Said a black and grey fae hatchling.

“I’m not a slow-poke! You meanie!” She cried, swiping a paw at him.

He took the blow and then quickly retaliated with his own puny swipes. Attor realized these were his children. His first instinct was to take them in his arms and hug them close, but when he reached for them they scampered away.

“Um, who are you mister?” His daughter asked.

“Father says not to talk to losers, Sylwia.” His son said.

Attor was stung; his own children were insulting him.

“Father never said that, just shut up Ludwik. Besides, he’s not a loser- are you mister?”

“I’m Attor.” He said.

“You’re Attor?” Sylwia said in surprise.

“Aha! I knew he was a loser!” Ludwik chuckled. “Let’s get out of here, Sylwia.”

“Sorry Attor, but our father wants us to stay away from you. He won’t say why though.”

“It’s because he’s a loser! Let’s go!” Ludwik said, tackling Sylwia playfully.

Sylwia fell over and they both tumbled down a gentle slope, covering them in mud. Attor watched his children in adoration; they certainly were a livelier bunch than he and his siblings had been.

“They’re a vigorous duo, aren’t they?” Said Nidhug from behind Attor.

Spinning around, Attor said, “Yes, they are.”

“They get it from their mother. As a matter of fact they seem to get most of their traits from their mother, seeing how they are both black Fae.”

“Yeah, especially Sylwia, she’s a lot like her mother.”

“How do you know her name? Did you talk to them?”

“Er, not really. I heard them address each other…”

“Ah, I see.”

Nidhug soon called the two hatchlings to join him on a hunting trip. Attor assumed the hatchlings must’ve been at least three days old if Nidhug was taking them hunting. The trio flew happily away into the forest of darkness. Attor sighed once again. It was then that he noticed a Ridgeback dragon staring him down from within the shadows of the forest. Attor instinctively ducked for the rotting log that he used to hide from his father on their first meeting, only to find it completely gone. He turned back to see the Ridgeback towering over him. Attor cowered down, bracing himself.

“You must be Attor. The whole clan is talking about you- or more specifically, your failure to help the clan in its time of need.” The dragon said.

“…”

“I’m Lapis.” He said. “I’m new to your clan.”

“Oh, hi.”

“I can see why everyone wants to banish you from the clan; you’re weak, cowardly, small, and obviously don’t know how to fight.”

“What? Everyone wants to banish me?”

“Well duh! From what I’ve heard, you haven’t contributed to the clan since you were born. All you do is mope and sleep. And don’t tell me you don’t, because I’ve been here for two days and I’ve already witnessed these things.”

“So, they really want to get rid of me?”

“Well, everyone but Eiko and Astarot. Everyone else wants you out of here; they’ve been talking about it.”

Attor recalled seeing Vritra, Gluarung, and Apep talking in hushed tones while they ate.

“And- what do you think?” Attor asked.

“From what I’ve seen, you deserve to be cast out, but I’m still new.”

Attor fell into silence.

“You’re not even going to protest? You really are as pathetic as they say.”

“…”

“Why don’t you speak up? Are you ignoring me?”

“…”

“…Fine then. I don’t know you, so I have no problem with you leaving.”

And with that, Lapis turned and walked away. Attor cast his head down, thinking about what he had just learned. It was reasonable to kick him out; after all, Attor was pathetic and weak. Attor didn’t even like The Tangled Wood, so why should he stay? His mate and children had all left him for his smarter brother, his eldest brother was recruiting minions to get rid of him, his entire clan disliked him, and Pandora was constantly staring into his soul. Attor was not happy here, and it was time he left.

That night Eiko called Attor into her den. He sat rigidly before her, no doubt in his mind as to why he was called here.

“My son, my precious son.” She began. “The clan requests your exile.”

“Ok. I’ll go.” Attor said unhesitatingly.

Eiko seemed surprised. “My son, you are willing to depart with the shadows?”

“Yes, mother. No one wants me here, and I don’t want to stay somewhere I’m not welcome.”

Eiko looked at him with sad eyes. “I am sorry to hear that.”

Eiko granted him permission to take 3,000 gold pieces from the clan hoard, even though the hoard was very scarce on treasure, and then she saw him off. Attor found himself flying instinctively towards the Sunbeam Runes. He flew directly towards the light like a moth, reveling at the feeling of stretching his wings once again.

“Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.” Attor whispered to himself.

Attor convinced himself that he disliked The Tangled Wood, but in truth he was going to miss the rancid smell of rotting wood; it was all he ever knew. Even if he hated the dark and others hated him, his parents were always loving and supportive of him. He forced himself to look forward. His new life in the light was about to begin, no matter what happened, Attor would never spend another day in the dark. Or so he thought.

A mighty blow to his back sent Attor spiraling downwards. He crashed to the ground, the wind knocked out of him. A weight landed on top of him, and he thrashed his wings frantically, trying to relieve it. To his surprise, the weight lifted, and he spun around to face Astarot. His jaw fell open in shock.

“Astarot? What are you-?” He began.

“What am I doing? What are YOU doing!?” She yelled.

“I-I…” Attor stammered.

“You think you can just walk away and leave, and then everything will be ok!?” She was very heated; her face was red and she was shaking as if she couldn’t contain her anger.

“…”

“Answer me!”

Attor was stunned at her ferocity. “I don’t know…”

“That’s not an answer.” She said through clenched teeth. “Tell me why you’re leaving.”

“Because no one wants me. Don’t you see? I’m useless, and if I don’t leave, I’ll get kicked out.”

“You’re wrong! You have to stay and fight!”

“F-fight?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about! You have to start fighting; we’re in the middle of a war and we need all the strength we can get.”

“But…I’m just a burden…”

“No you’re not, that’s just what you’ve been taught.” She hissed.

“Huh? What do you mean, ‘taught’?”

“All anyone has ever done is tell you that you’re useless, and you believe them- don’t you? If you would just try, you could show them. I know you can, because I was the same as you.”

Attor stared at her in confusion.

“When I was born, my father named me Astarot because he wanted a boy.” She sighed. “He believed I was useless, and the rest of the clan followed his lead. I was hurt and confused for a while, I’ll admit; I felt I couldn’t live without the support of my father. And then…He banished me. Yes, I admit- I didn’t run away. I clung to the edges of the clan territory like a little dog, I cowered whenever I was confronted and I never really fought for my right to return. The whole time I was just proving to everyone that I was the useless hatchling they thought me to be. If I had just stood my ground and fought, maybe I could’ve convinced them to take me back...If you leave now; you’ll never be welcome to your clan again, Attor.”

“…But…I don’t even like it here…I’m afraid of the shadows…I’m pathetic.”

Astarot slapped him. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that!”

Attor stared at her in stunned silence.

Astarot took a deep breath. “Don’t you see? I want you here, Attor. I want you to stand your ground, and prevail. I want to fly by your side though your troubles- so please…Won’t you stay?”

“…”

“Would you at least answer me?”

“I-I don’t want to…be rejected.”

“By the clan? Then don’t let them! What part of ‘stand your ground’ don’t you understand? Do I have to draw a picture for you!?”

“Um…uh…”

“Come back, now.” She said firmly.

“…”

“Good.” She said cheerily. “I can tell by the look in your eyes you want to come back.”

Attor was a bit surprised she had read him so easily. She skipped around him joyously, poking him playfully in the side and nudging him back to The Tangled Wood.


	8. Chapter 8

“In the beginning of time, a great chaos rang out in the darkness, shining brilliantly in the form of a billion small star fragments. Amidst the emptiness, a handful of these shards combined and churned themselves into a series of heavenly bodies, quietly floating around a young sun.”

“It did not stop there, however. The fourth-furthest world in this celestial family appeared to be having troubles forming. While the other bodies were solidifying, it remained calamitous, suffering from years upon years of explosive tumult.”

“Magic.” Sylwia cried.

Chumana nodded in praise at her young hatchling and continued to read the ancient book Nidhug had given her. “Unlike its brother and sister realms, this fledgling planet teemed with unimaginable energies. As chunks of stone and dust smashed against one another, they prevented the perfect astronomic harmony needed to truly form a world.”

“From this bedlam, the magical energies themselves began to concentrate and change. Similar particles receded into four great beings, each overwhelmingly dense with a different element. As if eager to proudly display their emergence to some unseen divinity, these beings took on the shapes of great wyrms. At first very similar-looking, each drake became more and more unique as it absorbed the essences that crowded the crumbled mess, until they had become quite distinct: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Quite interested now in the jumble of rocks from which they had been birthed, the First Four decided to end the chaos and began to build.”

“After a few millennia, the planet had taken a truly different form.”

“The dragon who christened himself the Earthshaker heaved slabs of stone into mountains and valleys, molding a diverse landscape across the surface. From beneath the earth's crust, the being that called itself the Flamecaller burst forth and tested the realm with volcanic eruptions and streams of molten fury. The drake known as the Tidelord summoned great storms and floods to cool this invasion, letting the heat and moisture mingle to form continents, oceans, and rivers. And from above, the spindled form of the one named the Windsinger traced lines of air currents around the globe, crafting clouds as if painting them with a colossal brush.”

“Though happy with their combined efforts, the First Four were not without their differing opinions on the direction this young planet should take.”

"’The mountains should be taller, the canyons greater. Our home should stand ironclad against the dangers of the heavens, protected against cosmic bombardment,’ shouted the Earthshaker.”

"’Our home should be turned inside-out, and lava should churn violently across its surface. Through me, it could rival the Sun itself in brightness and energy,’ spoke the Flamecaller.”

"’With more water, the world would shine like a blue pearl, unlike so many in the Heavens. It could stand alone in beauty and tranquility,’ murmured the Tidelord.” 

"’The air should be filled with a thousand screaming vortexes, singing a song that the Heavens will never forget,’ spouted the Windsinger.”

“Concerned only with their own campaigns, the First Four bickered and quarreled over the planet, until bitter conjecture turned to combat.”

“Water and Air warred firstly, stirring up roiling, violent storms. The cataclysmic energy created by their relentless attacks made the clouds themselves swell with anger. It was not long until the charged mass expelled a horrendous cascade of electric tempests, as well as a frustrated drake-shaped anomaly. Stunned by the event, the Tidelord and Windsinger abated, unaware of how to handle this new threat.”

“On the other side of the world, Earth and Fire smashed the landscape to pieces. Each broken mountain or fractured plain only riled the Earthshaker into deeper rage. With one great heave of his front leg, the entire planet wobbled in its orbit, and to this day has remained at an irregular tilt. Emboldened by the sudden disorientation, the Flamecaller beckoned several magma vents into existence, shattering the crust and spewing voluminous smoke billows into the atmosphere. This brash action blotted out the sun, plunging the southern hemisphere into an impenetrable darkness, causing a chill that the world had never experienced. Unbeknownst to the combatants, an isolated island on the bottom of the world began to freeze over, frigid ice sheets expanding their size at a rapid pace.”

“The battles raged for centuries, until even the ritual of night and day became affected. As the four clashed, the magic essences that were kicked up during the day hovered high in the sky, baking in the sunlight. They soon coalesced into their own bright deity. The Lightweaver had only just come into existence, and was already annoyed by the violence that smashed across the realm. Similarly, the night-gripped half of the planet materialized its own unstable energies into the Shadowbinder, a slithery calculating dragon, who peeked at the confrontations from deep, dark pockets in the land, judging each of the others as they tumbled and ruined what they had spent an eternity building. 

“Having spent millennia working together, the First Four had not considered the magnitude of the stress their warring had caused. The planet was in far worse shape than when it had been newly-formed, and everywhere they looked, unrestrained energies were being exhibited in their extremes.”

“Where the charged young Stormcatcher went, thunderstorms crackled, parching once-fertile land into inhospitable desert. The Lightweaver's aggravations were making the days too bright, and the cold aggression of the Shadowbinder was plunging each night into a murk most foul. The southern land shelf was encrusted in a living frost that would soon freeze into the imposing silhouette of the Icewarden.”

“The turbulent planet--a once-beautiful feat of magical engineering--would soon be at an end if the fighting worsened. And it was not going unnoticed.”

“As if written to save the Eight from themselves, a sudden silence swept over the land; the ruined spread of the conflict ceased, and a paralyzing uneasiness washed over the behemoths. The relentless ejection of magical energy had been recognized, and the very void from which they had designed their world now seemed to be retaliating.”

“They craned their necks to the sky and witnessed a horrifying sight: bleak, smoky tendrils began to thread their way from horizon to horizon, veining through the blue. Terrified at the sudden encroachment, the Lightbringer dove to the surface to find her brothers and sisters gathered in a valley, nervously huddled.”

“The defiling Shade continued its encroachment, sapping enough light from the world that it even distressed the Shadowbinder, who bellowed in defiance. Each dark spindle began to pulse and multiply, some even growing terrifying maws full of thin needle-like teeth. But before the blackness had entirely set in, the Flamecaller roared, breathing great bright flames from her jaws. The Shade recoiled at the explosive plume, emboldening the group to counter.”

“Each using their elemental strengths, the Eight battled back at the darkness that sought to inhale the magical life from their home. For hundreds of years, the beings who once sparred with one another tore at the Shade, driving each gloom tendril back. The dragon gods ferociously ripped at every gaping mouth that threatened to suck away the energy they treasured, determined to save their shattered world.”

“At long last, the nightmarish Shade were defeated, reduced to nothing but wispy remnants of the horror they had been. Peace had returned, but in the wake of eons of battle, the Eight's home was no longer recognizable. Mountains had crumbled; oceans had soured or dried up. Volcanic faultiness ruined much of the surface, and thunder rolled across the sky. Snow drifted in places it had never fallen.”

“Humbled and embarrassed by the state of the image that surrounded them, the drakes agreed upon a truce, and on the undeniable notion that they were no longer fit to oversee the burgeoning world. It had already seen its darkest days and what little life that existed had not even been given the chance to thrive. Unanimously, the eight wyrms decided to use their remaining strength to blanket the planet in a magical shield strong enough to protect it should the roaming Shade ever return.”

“Using the Earthshaker's gargantuan form as a foundation, the gods constructed a massive pillar at the northernmost point of the globe, fusing their corporeal bodies together into layers of elemental marble slabs. The World Pillar, as it is known today, would be the Eight's last and final resignation as makers. If the scarred flanks of the young world were ever to heal, they would do so on their own, unmarred by the omnipotence of the gods.”

“Read us more, mother! Read more!” Sylwia jumped up and down enthusiastically.

“Meh, I think it was kinda boring.” Ludwik yawned.

Sylwia shot him a glance. “You thought it was amazing- you just won’t admit it.”

“So what if I did?” Ludwik snorted.

Chumana stared at her children lovingly. “Well, I’m not so sure that Ludwik can handle another chapter.” She said teasingly.

“What!?” Ludwik shot up in protest. “I can handle anything!”

Nidhug, who was lying right next to Chumana, hummed in praise to his step-son. “That’s my son; he fears no book.”

“That’s right. And don’t you forget it!” Ludwik growled, glaring at Chumana and Sylwia.

Chumana and Sylwia giggled good-naturedly as Chumana turned the page to the next chapter.

“Time heals all things if given a chance.” She began.

“The Pillar of the World stood, its magical shield encasing the war-torn planet in protection. The last of the Shade had been vanquished and exiled from the realm. Only the raw elements were left to command the future.”

“Life exploded from each primordial puddle, evolving rapidly as it mingled with the remaining vestiges of magical essence. Creatures became more complex and diverse, leaving the familiarity of the oceans and streams to feel the sun and feed on the earth. The horrific battle scars of the past began to mend.”

“Young races founded their homes around the permanence of the monument, societies developing with the Pillar's colossal silhouette as a backdrop for stories and scripture. Primitive religions regarded the structure as a ladder of ascension; a direct path to their deities.”

“Theocracy prospered, adhering rigidly to the runes that adorned the Pillar's tiers. Acolytes of each element spent their devoted lives to understanding their meaning, witnessing their presence and role in nature. Even with their differences, the sects never embroiled themselves in confrontation. Reverence was paid wholly to the Pillar, and not to its singular layers. The arcane words of magi became the law and total governance of the realm.”

“But as societies grew more diverse focus on the elements began to diminish. Tribes became kingdoms, concerned only with securing their place in the world, which was now abundant with life. Conquest paved the way towards innovations in agriculture, warfare, housing, and technology.”

“Sects of the ancient elemental castes still existed; however, they were drowned out by the bustle of commerce and industry. These cabalistic groups still worshiped the Pillar. Chosen individuals claimed to have thaumaturgy connections that allowed them to manipulate mystical energies surrounding it. These claims were initially discounted and many elementalists were imprisoned for their unsettling zealotry.”

“Witnessing the decline of their rule, these magi became increasingly hostile. Attacks on settlements and government structures became commonplace, further widening the rift that separated them from normal citizens. During a particularly horrifying event known as the Firebreather Uprising, hundreds of civilian cottages were set ablaze in a single night.”

“This act of aggression prompted overwhelming retaliation. Rising warlords and their engineers sought to wrest any remaining control away from the elementalists, and war terrorized the land. Magi wielded their specialized elemental energies as harrowing bolts and beams, while wooden war-machines rumbled overland slinging great boulders or explosives. Thousands died.”

“NO!” Sylwia cried, devastated.

Ludwik rolled his eyes at his sister’s exaggerated reaction.

Chumana continued. “It was not until the appearance of a powerful magi who called herself ‘The Speaker’ that the cycle of violence ceased. Awestruck, sorcerers and soldiers laid down their arms to listen. The strange hooded figure bore a single prophecy: 

"Only when the children of the Pillar fuel the engine of fate shall they fortify life, challenge death, and know the true potential of magic." 

“Stunned by the mysterious power of her words, the warring factions ceased hostilities to consider the prophecy and an armistice was enacted to pursue the meaning of the heavy statement. The resulting peace was sustained by continued collaborations in science, magic, and technology.”

***

“As the centuries soldiered on in a universal peace, the collection of small nations grew into vast empires. Industry flourished at a breakneck pace. Advances in technology allowed for the complete homogenization of magic and machinery. Elementalism had become a thriving enterprise, improving the lives of thousands of people through fantastical feats of automation. Each sprawling city buzzed along at the pace of its own dedicated magical energy reactor, powered and overseen by elementalists (who were now a surprisingly robust percentage of the population.)”

“Civilization had reached a prosperous and harmonious future.”

“From that prosperity, the most powerful empire in the realm made its biggest breakthrough. Harnessing the power of the elements in small reactors had proven efficient in providing power to the masses, but the world's brightest engineers had become involved in a project much more ambitious: a giant engine worthy of The Prophecy's words.”

“Looming on the horizon, a construct rivaling the immensity of the Pillar itself began to take shape. A massive mountain-sized drum surrounded by bladed spires and miles of copper cabling imposed the landscape. The gleam of its metallic surfaces cast reflections upon the myriad of structures that dotted its perimeter. This mega-reactor's conduits connected to each of its surrounding brethren, having been designed to centralize their collective energy into a super-heated nucleus. The fusion chamber would soon be capable of providing scientists and mages alike with immeasurable knowledge of physics and the workings of the universe.”

“Citizens from every nation gathered around the reservoir on its opening day. Celebrations sprang up throughout world, hailing the reactor as a technical marvel and a true measure of spirit and ingenuity.”

“At the end of a reverent countdown, the metal behemoth was powered on. Crowds cheered and threw confetti. Lead engineers waved from the top of the reactor, congratulating one another on a job well done. The engine sparked to life, humming gracefully as the magical energy from several smaller generators was siphoned inward.”

“The drum began to heat.”

“Miles of cabling began to buckle and wave, as if part of a grandiose tentacled monster. Rivets exploded from the reactor's seams, and a glow brighter than the sun was beamed through the rips in its flank. Elation turned to horror as pieces of the colossal machine deteriorated like paper engulfed in flame. The mounting pressure released in one immense, silent flash.”

“The world went white.”

“The explosion had devastated the realm. Cities and nations lay to waste.”

“Sound was voided save for the wind, which carried smoke over the ruined land. In a single shattering moment, all life had been extinguished.”

“At the epicenter of the great detonation, a condensed mass of energy remained to govern the upturned blast zone. It pulsed like a star that had become detached from the night sky, tendrils of arcane energy arcing wildly. The orb appeared curiously sluggish, as if roused from a slumber.”

“Then it stretched all eight of its spindled limbs.”

Suddenly Chumana slammed the book shut and said, “That’s all for today.”

“What? No! What happens next?” Ludwik protested.

“No, no. That’s enough for today; this book must be boring you to death.”

“Well, I’ll keep listening if you really want to keep going.” Ludwik mumbled.

“No- its fine. Here you go Nidhug, thank you for letting us borrow this.” She said, handing it over to Nidhug.

“No! I want to know what happens next!” Ludwik whined.

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

Chumana’s eyes glinted mischievously as Ludwik pouted at her. She reopened the book and continued. “The world was still. In the wake of the disaster, nothing moved save for the beating of the arcane serpent’s own heart. Coiled and knotted like a rope, his spindled form merely hovered in the comforting glow of the detonation.”

“He was frailly built. Two sets of emaciated arms stretched out from a wiry frame, and a flat intricate crest fanned from his alien head, supported by a weak curved neck. A pair of small, vestigial wings remained folded at his sides, eclipsed by the larger pair that--until now--had acted as a cocoon.”

“The first few moments of his existence were sluggish, confusing. Several days passed before he could even unwrap himself from the coiled position that had ushered him into the devastated world. He extended one of his large outer wings, tentatively testing its soundness. He then peeled away the other, wobbling awkwardly. Frightened at the sudden temperature change, he collapsed both wings, huddling and shivering. Perhaps tomorrow.”

“Sounds like Attor when he was born.” Nidhug laughed, and then the hatchlings laughed with him.

Attor peeked his head around the corner, and Chumana instantly noticed him. Nidhug followed her gaze and snarled when he saw Attor. “What do you want?” He growled.

“I heard Chumana storytelling and I wondered if I could join you.” He said rather boldly.

“No. Go away.” He said, and then added, “You’re not welcome in the clan.”

“Besides-“ Chumana said. “We’re already at the last chapter.”

“That’s ok. I was actually listening the whole time.“ Attor said, casting a meaningful glance at Nidhug.

Nidhug got up and advanced on Attor. Attor faltered but didn’t move. Nidhug glared at Attor hatefully. “Why did you come back?” He spat.

“Because the shadows are my home.” He responded.

“Ha! You fear even your own shadow! Who do you think you are fooling?”

“If you disagree with me, then we’ll have to settle our differences right here, right now.”

Nidhug guffawed. “Fine then, if you are certain you can take me.”

Attor stiffened. He should have known Nidhug wouldn’t back down just because he was challenged; Nidhug was no coward. There was no backing down now. Nidhug rushed on Attor and slashed him on the shoulder. Attor clawed Nidhug in the face, but Nidhug was unfazed. Nidhug raked his claws down Attor’s sides and at his wings, in a few seconds Attor was covered in stinging cuts. It was obvious Nidhug wasn’t trying to kill nor severely injure Attor; he was trying to frighten him off. Attor remembered Astarot mentioning that this tactic would surely be used against him, and the best way to go was to return each half-hearted blow with a fiercer one.

Attor did as Astarot suggested. Every time Nidhug landed a small scratch on his flank or a merciful swoop of his tail, Attor would return it with a deep slash and a whip-lash blow. Nidhug had Attor pinned, yet Attor was slashing savagely at Nidhug’s face and chest, drawing blood. Nidhug stepped back slowly, letting Attor up. Attor jumped to his feet and snarled in case Nidhug thought about rushing him again.

“What made you change your mind?” Nidhug asked after staring Attor down for a few moments.

“Astarot.” Attor said unhesitatingly. “She made me realize I couldn’t get pushed around my whole life.”

“Tsk. Anyone can push you around, but I suppose trying to defend yourself counts for something.”

Attor nodded, recognizing Nidhug’s new-found respect, however small.

“But make no mistake- brother.” Nidhug growled. “I will never forgive you for what you’ve done to Chumana.”

Attor flinched at the memory of leaving her at the mercy of enemy plague dragons. Sylwia and Ludwik looked on in confusion and fear. Chumana opened the book and cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Shall we continue?” She asked.

Nidhug returned to Chumana’s side and glared at Attor when he sat next to the hatchlings. Attor moved over to the side, further away from his hatchlings, and Nidhug’s steel gaze turned back to the book Chumana was clutching.

“Let’s see, where was I?” Chumana said.

“You were at the part where I was born.” Attor said, casting a glance at Nidhug.

Nidhug shrugged off Attor’s glance as Chumana began reading from where she left off. “The next day he unraveled his leviathan-like tail enough to barely graze the soil below him. The sense of touch was exhilarating, but nothing prepared him for the first time he opened his eyes. The sudden stimuli of vision sent him reeling, as brightness invaded his fogged oculars and sent waves of pain throughout his head. Instinctively, he shut them tight again. But by now, his curiosity had been piqued, and he wrenched them back open, the blindness fading eventually.”

“What followed was an insatiable curiosity for the landscape that surrounded him. The world that he saw was the only world that he knew. The gnarled, skeletal remains of the cities and towns that surrounded him in a deathly ring had always been. This was the true picture of the realm according to the Arcanist.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“In the following days he wandered the wreckage, soaking in the scarred remnants of civilization. Each torn structure was a question; every charred figure was an inquiry.”

“These investigations fueled his hunger for knowledge, and he began to collect pieces of the deluge and examine them closely. Among the wastes he found scattered sheets of parchment and papers that had somehow escaped immolation. Though he did not understand the text covering them, there was much to be gleaned from the illustrations. The serpent began to build a picture of the area’s history.”

“But there came a point where the Arcanist had devoured what scant information he could, and he decided to venture outside the confines of the great city’s borders. His curious gaze traced the distant horizon, which sloped upwards drastically towards the northwest. There, a glint of bright light seemed to beckon to him. After surveying his birthplace for the last time, he launched into the sky and set off towards this beacon, leaving all he knew behind.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“No matter the destruction, there is always a chance of rebirth.”

“In the time before the Arcanist's awakening, concentrated energies rained across the shattered landscape, seeping into the charred remains of life and industry.”

“Arcane particles sank deep into the crust, enriching the roots of trees and plants that had been sapped of their life during the blast. Currents of energy coursed up trunks and into the cells of branches. Reactions sparked beneath the surface sending waves of magic through stalks of grass, clusters of bushes, and monumental redwoods. Ethereal flowers erupted from cracks and crevices, and each green cluster grew larger and more robustly than the last. Nature had capitalized on the fallout, taking control of the energies to repair it.”

“The rampant regrowth began to take on the guise of a colossal figure. Tree branches and leaves strained and twisted together into four thick, bark-covered stumps. A leafy canopy connected the four towers, until the burgeoning garden had materialized into a distinguishable silhouette. There was no mistaking what had been created: a wyrm of boundless potential, birthed from the leaves and the grass and the moss. The Gladekeeper had grown out of the ashes.”

“Not everything can be healed. The apocalypse had done more than spur the rejuvenation of flora: the fauna still rotted, left to fester upon the soil, and spoil in the dreadful warmth. Death leveraged the excess energy in another way. Where nature could not mend, decay took its place. Putrid film soaked and crept across the ground, enveloping everything in its path. Whole structures creaked and fell under the weight of the empowered rot that now infected them.”

“This contagion continued its wave of domination, scouring every corpse and every bit of food. Weaker plants and bodies of water fell sick with filth, and the cycle intensified with each new fallen organism. A runaway viral infection coursed through the veins of the world.”

“This scourge wrapped around the fallen, ripping away flesh and tearing marrow into a blighted tornado of destruction. Within time, the contamination had taken on a ghastly shape. It haunted the land in the form of a spectral drake, gnarled with veins, pustules and sharpened bone. This harbinger -the Plaguebringer- tested the worth of every sign of regrowth as she scoured over the surface of the realm, leaving behind a frightening scarred wasteland.”

“It did not take long for the wyrms to encounter one another; each was torn away from their polarized campaigns after sensing the nearness of their nemesis. While the land healed and fell ill all around them, the deities of nature and plague embroiled themselves in vicious, unending combat. Thick roots and brambles wrapped themselves around the Plaguebringer’s legs and arms, chaining her to the earth, only to wither and melt away at her defiling touch. Contagion reached and groped at the Gladekeeper’s every move, but she countered with razor-sharp torrents of bladed leaves and piercing branches. The land took on the hues of red and green as the two sparred and tumbled eternally. Hilltops and cliffs were torn asunder, replaced with lush tropical gardens or seething, stinking, bone piles. Chaos seemed the only constant.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Oblivious to the existence of the warring sisters, the Arcanist had reached his destination: an observatory perched at the top of a large heave of stone and grass. The sight of it was foreign to him; the structure was undeniably more intact than those that surrounded the scrap metal of the reactors below. Its metallic surface shone brilliantly up close, constructed out of polished amber-colored alloys and engraved with intricate patterns.”

“A massive, tiered scope extended from its domed roof, angled in such a way that a thousand different colors bent through its gigantic lens. The reflection of the rising moon glowed upon the surface of the curved glass.”

“Curious about the purpose of the construct, the young wyrm entered, approaching the ringed cylinder that led him to this place. Diagrams led him to the eyepiece in the center of the observatory’s central chamber. Tracing its connection to the scope, the Arcanist began to understand what he must do. Unaware of what to expect, he curled up on the floor and looked into the device.”

“Overwhelming emotion filled the Arcanist's heart. The familiar dreary landscape of orange and brown that had defined his creation was now a sea of black, dotted with a rainbow of color. A million twinkling stars enveloped his senses, and he backed away from the telescope in fear. But for as much apprehension he was experiencing, there was two times the excitement. He was obliviously traveling along the waves of galaxies and pulsars and suns and planets, absorbing it all.”

“And in this position he remained.”

“He began to inscribe his studies onto the reams of blank parchment he found preserved below the observatory. Strewn papers and notes dotted interior walls of the dome, illustrating star maps and constellations he found in his observations. The vastnesses of the skies above were always unveiling new surprises. He was determined and hungry to document it all: Every corner of space, every point in the visible universe.”

“After a particularly exhausting night of scouring the sky, he noticed something peculiar: a splotch of pure black between two familiar spiral galaxies. Consulting his previous maps of that area, he realized that it had not shown itself the first time he had chronicled the quadrant. A sudden wave of curiosity washed over him and—suddenly reinvigorated--he refocused in on this spot intensely.”

“The blackness was implausible, and--more alarming: it seemed to move slightly over the course of the night. The arcane one rapped his claws against the floor in deep thought. To move that quickly in one evening had to mean that the anomaly was very close indeed. Close enough, even, to possibly view with the naked eye. A natural account of the enigma would be extremely valuable information to have.”

“For the first time in a decade, the Arcanist left the observatory. Squinting into the setting sun, he traced a pattern in the sky towards where he knew the blemish would be, and there it was. It was as if someone had removed the stars from the sky, shoving them outward, exposing a hole in the cosmos.”

“He surveyed the horizon, trying to identify the highest point where he could perch; dismayed that he may have already reached it. From the observatory hill, the Arcanist could see a wealth of landscape spread out around him, though nothing appeared to surpass his vantage. A mighty silhouette faded into view to the northeast. Through a thick brown haze, he could see a tall monument, stretching skyward. A pillar. From its zenith it might just be possible to observe the growing darkness.”

“The Pillar’s true size became readily apparent the closer he traveled. Waves of powerful energy warped the air, making flight more and more difficult as he approached, finally driving him to ground. As he crawled to The Pillar's base, he looked up. The megalith towered above him, receding into the heavens. He could not make out its summit, and the notion of scaling it soon became sickening and intimidating.”

“He had to know.”

“Driven, the Arcanist reached out and gripped the Pillar’s craggy surface with one of his claws, finding handholds in the intricate carvings that decorated its circumference. Using all the strength he could muster, he began to propel himself upward. During his ascent, he never looked down upon the world that was now roiling with plagued lands and terrifying jungles. He was alone in the pursuit of an ultimate knowledge.”

“For days he climbed, eyes focused on the tightly-rounded horizon that was his goal. Mistral tufts brushed his aching body, and for several hours the young god was lost in a soup of dark, rumbling thunderclouds. He made his best progress at night, when the void was most prominent in the sky. It was growing larger, but he could not determine if he was getting any closer.”

“At long last, the Pillar ended. Digging his claws into the flattened crown, and with a final exhausting heave, he pulled his body onto the cold, unforgiving stone and collapsed. He slumbered, wrapped within the protection of his wings. The air at the apex was frigid, and an immense pressure pulsed at his temples, but there he remained until night inevitably fell.”

“The dark spot was now a formidable swath of the sky, and he could make out curious fluctuations along its edges. Tendrils of the deepest black spiraled off; however, there was something even odder. Although he was closer to his subject, his perception of it still felt skewed. Was it possible that his viewpoint was somehow being warped by the energies emitted by The Pillar?”

“The Arcanist closed his eyes and focused, meditating deeply within the submersion of the magic emanating from the summit. He felt it shift, glowing, growing, and receding. The drake began to pull at it, each inhale absorbing more and more of the ether. He then opened his eyes.”

“It was much clearer now. The distortion that had obscured his observance of the void had all but vanished. He took a few moments to closely examine the darkness, soon discovering that it was shifting in accordance to his own movement. When he lifted an arm, smoky tendrils sprouted from the black cloud and spiraled outward in a beautifully fractal dance. If he arched his back, the blackness echoed and bent. This was communion with the heavens, a gift that he had only dreamed of. From this perch, the Arcanist felt he could command the universe itself.”

“He released some of his power in a stream of red and blue, drawing a serpentine line of fire across his body. The darkness shifted. He waved all four of his arms in different directions, painting the air with coiled ropes of light. The darkness inflated. In one grand gesture, he expelled magic in a dazzling array of explosions and patterns.”

“The darkness surged.”

“A low, ominous rumble pervaded the air, and the Arcanist became frightened, halting his display and seizing hold of the edges of The Pillar. Something was not right.”

“The shadow enveloped the sky, and the tendrils that had enchanted him moments before were taking on a terrifying new guise. Thousands of razor-toothed maws snapped toward him as the night was swallowed.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“A harrowing moan rocked the realm. Startled, the Gladekeeper relaxed her jaw, releasing the Plaguebringer's neck. The defiling wyrm tumbled down a ravine, scrambling to right herself. Poised to lunge back into the fray, she froze in her tracks when another deafening groan shuddered over the canyon. The two sisters were silenced as they both raised their heads and witnessed the bleak canopy spreading out above them.”

“In the far distance, a beacon of radiating pink light pulsed in the clouds, illuminating the mighty Pillar on the horizon. Crackling bolts of thunder surrounded its summit, and each passing moment resulted in more disappearing stars. It was as if a mighty being was blowing out a billion candles.”

“Terrified at what this could mean, the adversaries fled in opposite directions, determined to preserve themselves.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“This was not right.”

“The Arcanist cemented himself to the stone dais, gaping at the nightmare that grew ever larger, and the moaning that rumbled ever louder. A sorrowful, hopeless feeling washed over him, and all of the raw power and energy he had so masterfully wielded was drained. He shook with fear.”

“The Shade continued the hunt, gaining speed at a horrifying pace. Beckoned by the arcane dragon’s ritual, the cloud of dread hungrily rocketed towards the world it had attacked eons earlier. The darkness sliced through the sky like a dagger.”

“There was nothing left to do. The young god crept to the precipice and looked down into the clouds. The perceived sensation of falling almost seemed a welcome feeling when compared to the null maw that approached. With one last look at the conquering shadow, he slid off the edge and clenched his wings tight against his body. The Arcanist plummeted as the first tendrils reached the bulwark’s outer barriers.”

“A deafening noise shattered the silent night, as the brunt of the assailing force hit. The immensity of the nightmarish Shade was overwhelming. The magical barrier, weakened considerably during the summoning, ruptured under the impact. The force of the collision sent devastating shockwaves through the thin air, and in one explosive moment...”

“...the Pillar shattered.”

The hatchlings gasped in shock while Attor sat on edge in anticipation. Nidhug seemed uninterested; Attor assumed he had read it before. “That’s the last chapter. But-“ Chumana said before the hatchlings could pipe up in dismay. “There’s an Epilogue.”

“What are you waiting for, then? Read it! Read it!” Ludwik squeaked, his skepticism gone.

“All right, all right. Calm down.” She smiled. “A muted dawn cut through the murk that permeated the lowlands. The morning was thick with ash and dust and a scent of a burning world was carried on the wind. Dark veins of smoke--the remnants of the Shade--dripped down the sides of the sky as it warmed and brightened, an inky rain falling on the outside of an upturned glass basin.”

“There was no sound but the slight tumble of fragments of rock settling, and the crackling of growing wildfires.”

“The calamity had detonated the stone pillar, hurtling entire slabs and chunks of it across the globe. From the northern highlands to the southern ice shelf, not a landmass was unscathed by the shrapnel of the explosion. The most immense layers of the structure gravitated to their eventual resting places in the would-be elemental regions of the modern world. The visual reminders of the shattering were everywhere.”

“Floating above the massive plinth that remained, loose clusters of stone hovered in a columnar fashion, held aloft by their own will and a stubborn refusal to let go of the shape they once held. Below the ruined silhouette, the world was a tumble of upturned earth and strewn debris. Earthen scars radiated from the monument like a multi-armed star, pieces of it entrenched deep in the rocky crust.”

“There was no sign of the arcane dragon that had manifested this scene. The sisters of plague and nature stared in disbelief as the behemoths that had fused themselves into the barrier now lay beneath its skeletal remains. The wyrms stirred.”

***

“The Lightweaver opened her eyes to the devastation, stricken immediately by the bleak and sorrowful condition of the sky. The sun was rising, but its rays were fettered and obscured by strings of darkness that crept from on high. They faded as they fell, like rivulets of drying ink.”

“How long did I sleep, tangled up in the spiral of the Pillar? Before she could formulate a guess, a pile of rocks gave way nearby, and a ropy, pronged tail unfurled from beneath the rubble.”

***

“What impressed the Stormcatcher most was that he was still very much alive, and full of renewed vigor. Although their long nap had been cut short by the calamity, he once again felt the warm breezes of the world, and that was enough to shake off any lethargy in him. Kicking off the tumblestone, he surveyed the mess with analytic wonderment. His momentary curiosity was soon doused in apathy the moment he partook in the act of his sisters and brothers waking in the post-catastrophic drear.”

“’Tragic. But expected.’”

“So that was it. There was nothing left here; they had failed. The Shade had bested their ward.”

“’Where will you go?’ the Earthshaker called, propping himself up on thick, granite-caked legs. The wyrm of thunder paused, but did not turn, his crested head pointed towards the southern horizon.”

“’Where I may not be found---this farce is over, and I've plans of my own,’ Without a look, he took to the sky, sparks of electricity cracking off his wings at each beat.”

***

“The Shadowbinder waddled to a rocky overhang and spat on the ground. The dark puddle sizzled when it hit stone.”

“The brightness of day was in full swing, and the burn of the sun was extremely discomforting. The earthen one appeared to be gesturing to her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. It didn't matter, she supposed. She remembered not really liking him anyway. Come to think of it, she didn’t really like any of them.”

“She wouldn't last much longer if she did not find darkness enough to obscure this oppressive morning. She hobbled from shadow to shadow until she, too, had disappeared on the horizon.”

***

“The morning heat had begun to wear on the Icewarden, but he could not depart without saying something. The Earthshaker looked pathetic. “’This is the way of it. We were resolute enough to keep this world from destroying itself, but now we have another charge. It is evident that we will never hold off the residual darkness together, so we must do so apart. It is time to separate.’”

“His words withered the mountain drake, he could tell, but with a grim nod, he took his leave.”

***

“I will create thousands of children, thought the Windsinger. The air will be cleansed and painted in a plethora of colored brushes. My flight will carry the stories of the realm, and tell of its history. A pity that the others will never know a similar joy.”

***

“There was no stopping them now. One by one, the Earthshaker watched his kin recede from the landscape, abandoning the post that had solidified their alliance for so many millennia. The Tidelord rumbled darkly about impending strife and the splintering of friendships before slipping into a murky lake. The Flamecaller left without a word at all, though the earth rumbled and issued hot jets of smoke in her wake. By nightfall, the stone guardian was completely alone, staring at the shattered column.”

“The evening air howled; a solemn noise that reminded him just how deserted this landscape was. Dust moved in combating vortices, blotting out the glow of the moon, and encrusting the great dragon in gravels and sands.”

“He did not move for several months, addled by sorrow and lethargy. From this resting place, the years passed him by, calcifying his body into a heap of boulders.”

***

“The Eleven founded their eventual homes around the largest slabs of the Pillar that had come to rest across the realm. Although separated and cloistered, they still held a powerful connection to the monument that once shielded their world from darkness.”

“To further guard these relics, the wyrms used their respective magics to create children in their image.”

“Dragonkind was born.”

“They introduced color, pattern, and trait to create tension and diversity. Over many cycles, these children began to form their own primitive societies, like those that had come before the shattering. These new denizens dedicated their lives to protecting their piece of the Pillar, and preserving the strength and significance of their element. Life sprang up around the gods, and dragonkind thrived in this new age.”

“Furthermore, these clans were becoming powerful. Each new generation was more attuned to their element than the one that came before it, and the saturation of magical energies became increasingly more robust. The recovering realm now hosted a myriad of dragons of all elemental persuasions, all populating and shaping their territories to accommodate a staggering increase in magical affinity.”

“These denizens dedicated their lives to protecting their piece of the ruined column, and preserving the strength and significance of their element. Only time would tell whether this new order would maintain or destroy that which the gods had built.”

And with that, Chumana closed the book, and gave her hatchlings a pleased smile. Sylwia perked up. “That’s it? What happens next?” She asked.

“Yeah! What happens next?” Ludwik chirped in.

“Well, my children.” Chumana said. “That is for us to decide.”


	9. Chapter 9

Attor left the nesting grounds and went back to the main chamber, where he was immediately challenged by Gluarung, Vritra, and Apep. Attor was expecting them to challenge him; he had sent Astarot to spread the word that he was back while he visited Chumana. He didn’t want to be challenged before then. It seemed the entire clan had come; Attor saw Lapis, Longwei, Pandora, Astarot, and Eiko in the background. When Eiko saw Attor emerge from the half hidden entrance, her eyes lit up, but she did not move. Gluarung stepped forward, blocking Attor’s view of Eiko.

“I heard you came back for a beating.” Gluarung snarled.

Attor blinked in surprise; usually Gluarung wasn’t so open about messing with Attor. He supposed it made sense though, since this may be the only time Gluarung would be able to attack Attor without disapproval from the clan. Attor swallowed a lump in his throat as he prepared his retort.

“No.” Attor said coolly. “I came to take my rightful place in the clan.”

“Tsk! Who do you think you’re fooling?” Vritra snorted.

“If you have a problem with it, you can kiss my-“

“Well, aren’t we feeling peppy today?” Gluarung cut him off.

“You could say that.” Attor said defiantly.

“I wonder how well you’ll talk once I break your jaw.”

“Just try it.”

Gluarung, Apep, and Vritra burst into laughter. “He actually thinks he belongs here!” Apep cackled.

Before Attor could react, Gluarung socked him in the head. Attor was alarmed to see stars. Gluarung ruthlessly body slammed Attor, knocking him windless. Attor heard a crack, and then searing pain flared up in his chest. He struggled vainly for breath as Gluarung pressed his weight down on Attor’s much smaller body. After a few seconds, Attor was shocked to find he couldn’t even inhale anymore; his chest was completely caved in and his lungs were pierced by his ribs. It was obvious to everyone by this point that Gluarung had won, yet Gluarung still pressed on, his mind set on finishing the job. It was no one’s place to interrupt the fight, no matter what they might think about Gluarung’s intentions, so everyone just sat tight and watched as Attor’s gags for air grew gradually slower.

Attor’s vision faded and he felt the warmth in his body recede, soon he felt as if he were drifting in an endless void, with no sense of direction or any signs of light. He felt small tingling where his ribs pierced his lungs, but even that gradually faded, and he lost all his senses. All except one. A tiny voice pounded at the back of his skull, so tiny and distant Attor would have missed it if he had not been straining to see, hear, smell, or feel anything.

“-A…, can...ear…me?”

Attor twitched from the space from which he was confined, but otherwise did not move.

“Ple…, ease…wa…up. -need…to…your eyes…Please.”

Attor was dimly aware of the voice’s urgency growing.

“…up! –lease…up! –A…!”

Attor’s body was suddenly flooded with warmth.

Attor jerked awake, and then instantly regretted doing so; his chest was burning with pain. At least he could breath, even if it was with deliberate slowness and severe stabbing pain throughout his entire chest. He quickly scanned his surroundings. He was in his nest. The familiar walls of his clan’s lair were welcoming. He suddenly wondered why he was here at all. Wasn’t Gluarung going to kill him? If not, wouldn’t the clan at least throw him out? Attor was covered in bloody wraps which looked a lot like Nidhug’s white linen that he loves so much. It even smells kind of like…Uh oh.

Attor realized that Astarot was in the nest with him. She had a big wing covering his body, as if she had intended to protect him while he slept. He looked at her face- she was fast asleep. A million questions buzzed in Attor’s head, but he was too exhausted to do anything. So instead he slipped back to sleep next to Astarot’s fuzzy, warm embrace.

***

Attor was prodded gently awake. He looked to see Nidhug and Astarot standing over him. Attor squinted at them, his mind fuzzy and his body broken. Attor noticed Nidhug wasn’t wearing his white linen wraps anymore, confirming Attor’s suspicion that they were being used for his wounds. Attor waited for his head to clear a little so he could speak. The fuzzy-headedness did not recede. Nidhug began to speak, “I presume you have begun to question the reason of your continual presence within the clan?” Nidhug waited. When Attor did not answer, he continued, “I see- you are still in shock. In that case, I will merely formulate a simple sequence of rhetorical questions in which you may choose to answer depending on the capability of your temporal lobe,” Attor blinked, not understanding. Nidhug’s face tightened in worry. “Are you perhaps having difficulty perceiving coherent stimulations of verbal communication?” Attor still didn’t understand, and he was unable to answer. Astarot glanced at Nidhug.

“Is he ok?” She asked.

Nidhug slowly shook his head. “I am assessing the probability of permanent injury having been inflicted upon his temporal lobe.”

“Which means…?”

“I think Gluarung hit him too hard,” Nidhug spat. “Such primitive patterns of speech are below my decorum.”

“Whatever. Will he be okay?”

“Would you be so kind as to specify your denotation? If you are implying the health of his physical state, I have concluded that he has pneumothorax. If you, however, were regarding his mental state- I fear he may have ‘brain damage’. I will not stress the details for the sake of your primordial intellectual knowledge in the area of brain anatomy.”

“Could you explain, please?”

Nidhug sighed in exasperation. “You leave me with the task of finding suitable colloquial speech to match that of your own futility,” He paused as he thought of a way to simplify his words. “Attor’s ribs punctured his lungs, causing them to burst,” It was obvious Nidhug was having trouble thinking of words to use that would simply explain Attor’s condition. “His lungs may recover; however, I’m afraid his temporal lobe was damaged. In case you didn’t know, the temporal lobe controls auditory and visual memories, language, some hearing and speech, plus some behavior.”

“So- he can’t understand us?”

“Yes. He may have damaged other parts of his brain as well, but as of now, I cannot confirm those suspicions.”

Astarot was starting to get worked up. “Will it always be like this? Will he be able to understand us again?” She looked feverishly at Attor.

“No and no. He may not always be exactly like this; however his condition will remain the same. There is no undoing that blow to his skull. The second one is more of a yes-no; he will never fully understand us, but there is a chance at rehabilitation. I assume what you really meant to ask me was, ‘will he ever be the same?’ The answer is no.”

For a moment Astarot glanced back and forth between Nidhug and Attor. Attor stared at them speechlessly; he seemed to have forgotten how to speak. Attor watched Nidhug and Astarot intently as they exchanged more distorted, incoherent blathering. Finally they stopped, and Astarot’s gaze turned towards him, her amber eyes wide and full of sorrow. He tilted his head quizzically, wondering what she had to be sad about. This seemed to upset her more, and she slowly lowered herself to the ground, making more vague noises with her mouth. Attor suddenly realized she was trying to talk to him. He focused all his attention on her, paid close attention to her mouth and expressions, yet he still couldn’t make out what she was saying. She stared straight into his eyes, as if waiting for a response. Attor shook his head hopelessly; even if he could understand her, the fuzziness in his head still wouldn’t go away, and it rendered him speechless.

Attor still had no idea what was going on; he couldn’t understand anybody, and he couldn’t speak. The clan had seemed slightly less aggressive towards him when he first emerged from his nest, but as they realized his ability to communicate had gone down the gutter, they returned to giving him the cold shoulder. As the days went by, things only got worse; faces became less and less familiar, he found himself forgetting his early days as a hatchling, he often lost control of his emotions, he was unable to feel physical pain, he got depressed and confused about nothing at all, and colors and distances would shift and change right before his eyes. It was as if he had control over nothing at all. The only one who bothered even trying to communicate with him was Astarot. She would visit his nest and talk to him for long periods of time, and he would stare blankly at her nodding his head. Pandora visited on some occasions, though she didn’t even talk; she simply stared through him with all-seeing eyes. Other than those two, he didn’t really see anyone else at all.

One day, when Astarot came to talk to him, Attor was surprised that he could make out some of the words she was saying.

“You always stay…up in this…place.” She said. “Don’t you ever…trapped? Everyone else is so…without you... Even Sylwia and Ludwik are…grown up. Don’t you ever…about…hatchlings? They are your children…”

“!” Attor was shocked.

Astarot perked. “Can you… what I…?” She asked hopefully.

“?” Attor shook his head in confusion and collapsed to the ground in despair.

“You’ve…more dramatic lately. I…like…slowly losing you.”

Attor stared at her.

“Nidhug says-“ She caught herself. “Let’s talk…Sylwia…Ludwik. Do you miss them?”

“?” Attor had no idea who Sylwia and Ludwik were anymore.

“How could…forget your…hatchlings!?”

“…”

“Never mind…Do you…least…remember Pandora?”

“!” Attor still remembered the little black skydancer.

“She…taken Apep…a mate. They have…hatchlings. Franciszka, Izzak, and Grzegorz.”

“…” If Attor remembered who Apep was, he would have been shocked to hear this news.

“We have…member…the clan. Her name…Bylinda. She’s…Imperial dragon.”

“…”

“I…I…” Astarot was fumbling with her words now. “I need…to know…important. Nidhug says…will…soon.”

“?”

“You’re going…die…!” Astarot burst into tears. “Your lungs…damaged…repair. Soon…won’t be…to breathe.”

“!?” What lung damage? Attor wondered. He could no longer feel pain, or any physical contact. He had also mostly forgotten about his fight with Gluarung. In fact- he forgot who Gluarung was completely.

“I’m…miss you…” She whispered.

“…” Attor failed to feel any sadness despite his friend’s distress; his emotions were out of his control.

“I…you.”

There was a long silence, so Attor assumed she had just said something important. Suddenly he completely lost interest in the conversation, stared at a crack in the wall, and wondered how long it had been there. Astarot was an emotional wreck. She struggled to regain Attor’s attention, and when she finally did, she repeated what she said.

“I…you.” She repeated.

“?”

“I…you.”

“?”

“Darn it! I love…”

“?”

“I love you!” She cried.

“…”

“Don’t you…anything to say?”

Attor shook his head; those words meant nothing to him now. Besides- he couldn’t speak.

“At least…got that…off my chest.” She whispered to herself. “I wish…said…sooner-“ Astarot stopped talking as she realized Attor was staring at the crack in the wall again. She cast her head downwards and slowly got up to leave. Just before she left, however, she walked over, kissed Attor on the cheek, and gave him a bear hug. She then left, looking over her shoulder as if that was the last time she would ever see him. Attor continued to stare in fascination at the crack on the wall.

***

Attor’s chest suddenly tightened during his sleep. It jogged him awake, and he realized he wasn’t breathing. He was about to inhale, but he had forgotten how. His chest was really tight, and he lay in his nest in confusion as he felt his chest shift and inflate. He wasn’t sure where his chest was, once he thought about it, and he wasn’t in any pain. So he simply dismissed the fact that he wasn’t breathing and went back to sleep. Peacefully. He never really did wake up, but that was fine with him; he was never cut out for adventure anyways.


	10. Chapter 10

“-And so it is with great sorrow that I announce the passing of Attor. He was a fragile dragon but a shadow dragon none the less, and I want him to be remembered for his last act of bravery, for standing his ground in a fight even though he was sure to lose. I want no more talk of his timid nature or his cowardice during the previous fights. He was a good dragon, and my son,” Eiko grumbled from the center of the gathered shadow dragons.

“You know what to do,” Eiko whispered to Nidhug and Astarot.

Astarot nodded solemnly while Nidhug went to fetch Attor's body. Most of the clan was happy with the passing of Attor while others couldn't care less. The only few who seemed to care for his death were Chumana, Astarot, Eiko, and Longwei.

Chumana looked sadly at her hatchlings Sylwia and Ludwik. The two were completely unaware that it was their father that had died. She glanced at Pandora who was in deep conversation with her son Franciszka, the two were always talking about cosmic magic and foresight. Chumana thought about how the skydancer dragon had tried to warn her of Attor's betrayal, how Chumana had nearly attacked her, fiercely refusing to believe Attor would ever leave her to the claws of plague dragons. Chumana thought of all the lies and fights that had spread in and out of the clan, of all the physical and emotional pain she had received and given. She turned again to her two hatchlings and decided that she had to tell them the truth, but not yet; they were too young. She would tell them when they were ready to handle the truth.

* * *

“Hey, Sylwia!” Ludwik shouted from across the plains, “have you found any sign of them yet?”

“Ludwik, this is supposed to be a stealth mission,” Sylwia said calmly.

“Well, you weren't responding,” Ludwik snapped. “Don't get mad at me.”

“Sorry, I was thinking about- things.”

“Like Franciszka?”

Sylwia was silent for a moment. Ludwik sighed and stomped towards his sister. When he reached her he could see a far-sighted gaze on her face. He puffed smoke into her face, making her cough out of her trance.

“What could you possibly be thinking about while we're on an important mission like this?” Ludwik asked.

“Stuff and things,” She responded.

“Take care of your 'stuff and things' later. We have to find that group of lightning dragons that escaped and finish them off before they regroup.”

“I know,” Sylwia sighed.

The two dragons searched every corner of The Tangled Wood. They searched from Driftwood Drag, to Foxfire Bramble, to Wispwillow Grove, to the Forum of the Obscured Crescent, yet they were unable to find the lightning dragons. While they were double checking Wispwillow Grove, however, a rustling in the brush behind them caught their attention.

Without uttering a single word, Sylwia blasted the brush with magic, exploding the tree and setting the surrounding area ablaze with arcane flames. Ludwik immediately pounced what was left of the brush and swatted rotting leaves and mushrooms aside as he searched for enemies. His aggressive searching stopped short, and he slowly turned towards Sylwia, his face pale.

“What is it?” Sylwia asked.

“Its a shadow hatchling,” Ludwik said, his face grave.

Sylwai's heart skipped a beat.

“Is it okay?” She asked as she walked to her brother's side.

Ludwik picked up a small blue spiral dragon with purple eyes and set it down in front of Sylwia. The hatchling looked up at her with large, curious eyes and smiled innocently.

“I think so, but we should probably try to find his parents,” Ludwik said.

The two dragons once again searched all over The Tangled Wood. They visited each clan and asked if any had a missing hatchling. After they visited the fiftieth clan, they decided to take the hatchling back to Driftwood Drag.

“Who do you think this guy's parents are?” Ludwik asked.

“No idea,” Sylwia said, her voice distant.

“What are you thinking about now?” Ludwik said, somewhat annoyed.

“...Stuff and things,” Sylwia answered, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

“Okay, you have to tell me now. You're never like this, usually you're filled with energy. What's going on? And don't say 'stuff and things',” Ludwik huffed, jumping in front of Sylwia.

“Fine. I have an egg in the nesting grounds,” Sylwia admitted.

Ludwik stopped dead in his tracks, the hatchling on his back looked on in confusion as Ludwik stared open jawed at his sister. Sylwia ducked her head in embarrassment as she went on.

“The father is Lapis. And to be honest, I haven’t incubated it yet. I hate neglecting my egg, but I was talking to Franciszka about it and he said- stuff. So I...” Her voice trailed off as she saw the expression on Ludwik's face change.

“You have an egg and you didn't tell me about it?” Ludwik gaped.

“Its nothing personal. Only Lapis, Franciszka, Bylinda and I knew about it because-”

“Why do you feel the need to keep it secret?”

“Franciszka told me some future stuff-”

“'Future stuff'?”

“Pandora is training him in the ways of foresight and-”

“Hold on. What could he possibly say that would make you think it was a good idea to neglect your egg and keep it secret?”

“Stuff and things.”

“I'm going to cut you.”

A thud made both of them jump. Ludwik turned to find that the hatchling had fallen asleep and slid off his back, and he now slept peacefully with his face planted firmly in the ground. Ludwik and Sylwia locked gazes.

“Promise me you won't neglect your egg,” Ludwik said.

“...Alright. I promise,” Sylwia sighed.

Sylwia and Ludwik flew back to Driftwood Drag in little to no time, their small bodies gliding them gracefully over the fungi infested trees below. As they landed in front of the half hidden entrance to the lair, Franciszka approached them from the shadows. Ludwik glanced at Sylwia, then entered the den with the hatchling sleeping soundly on his back. Sylwia walked up to Franciszka, her newly made promise fresh on her mind.

“Hey, Sylwia. How did the mission go?” Franciszka asked.

“They got away,” Sylwia grumbled. “But we found a hatchling. We asked all the clans, yet no one stepped up as the parent.”

“Are you going to ask to keep it?”

“Me? Not personally, no. By the way, about my egg...I told Ludwik and he made me promise not to neglect it.”

Franciszka's eyes clouded. He stared off into the distance as he often did when he was trying to see the future. Sylwia stood in silence as she waited patiently for Franciszka to start talking again. After a minute or two, his gaze returned, filled with worry. He looked Sylwia straight in the eyes before speaking.

“Your child will be cursed. There's nothing you can do to stop this except prevent it from being born, but I have seen that you will be persistent, so do what you will,” he said ominously.

“How is it cursed? What happens?” Sylwia asked anxiously.

“I couldn't tell you how, I just know it will be,” Franciszka said, shaking his head.

“What about the other two?”

“From what I can tell, they'll be born healthy.”

Before Sylwia could respond, Ludwik exited the lair and called out to them.

“Hey! Get in here, Eiko is talking about the hatchling,” Ludwik yelled.

Without saying another word about the eggs, Sylwia and Franciszka jogged into the lair. The moment they peeked their heads in they could see Vritra, Apep, and Gluarung sitting together in their own devious corner. Across the room Bylinda was just leaving the nesting grounds and her expression lit up when she saw Franciszka. Chumana and Nidhug were sitting together at the back of the crowd with Ludwik now at their heels. Astarot wasn't quite paying attention to anything around her, she was staring intensely at Vritra. Lapis began to walk towards Sylwia when he saw her, a grin on his face. Franciszka's brothers, Izzak and Grzegorz, were sitting next to Pandora, their faces turned expectantly towards Longwei and Eiko at the center of attention. Sylwia noticed a white and red pearlcatcher ice dragon sitting amongst the crowd and pointed her out to Lapis.

“Who's that?” Sylwia asked.

“Oh, that's Kinga. Apep bought her at eight hours old. He wants to raise her up as his daughter,” Lapis responded.

“That can't be good,” Sylwia growled.

“What do you mean?” Lapis asked, tilting his head.

“Hasn't anyone seen it by now? I mean, I know they technically haven't done anything wrong yet, but they're so maniacal,” Sylwia said.

“I get what you mean, but they're loyal to the shadows, so there's not much to complain about.”

“Tch. Anyways, what's Eiko saying about the hatchling?”

“I think she's talking to him now.”

At the front of the crowd, the spiral hatchling was sitting down in front of Eiko, his gaze cast straight up to look the larger dragon in the eyes.

“What is your name, young one?” Eiko asked in her silky shadow dragon voice.

“Blue,” the dragon squeaked.

“Who are your parents?” She said, her quizzical gaze fixed on the hatchling.

“My mother's name is Oyster,” he said.

“And your father?”

“He doesn't have a name. I don't know why...”

“Do you know where they are?”

“My mother said she was going away somewhere important and she couldn't come back. Then my father left the forest when she was gone and told me not to follow.”

There was silence as the clan took in Blue's words. Sylwia specifically saw Vritra, Gluarung, and Apep exchange mischievous glances. She glowered in their direction, but they were two far away to notice. Lapis nudged her and gave her a meaningful look.

After Eiko heard Blue's story, she invited him to her clan. Blue looked fearfully around, but his gaze suddenly locked with Kinga, and then his eyes softened. He looked back up at Eiko and gave a small nod of acceptance. The clan huddled in and welcomed the young dragon, including Sylwia, who noticed he was trying to see Kinga. She smiled slightly as she left the dragon to the clan, then instinctively went into the nesting grounds where she was greeted by Bylinda.

“Hi,” Bylinda said with a friendly wave of her long tail. “What do you think of the two new hatchlings?”

“I think they're perfect,” Sylwia said, breaking into a wide grin.

Bylinda returned the smile, “I saw it too. Aren't they going to make an adorable little couple?”

Chumana laughed, pushing her egg back with the others in the nest, “Of course they will.”

“So you've decided to incubate it, then?” Bylinda asked, gesturing to the egg.

“Yeah, I promised Ludwik,” Sylwia sighed.

Bylinda nodded in understanding before settling down in her nest and falling asleep. Sylwia stared at the egg she was going to leave to rot and tried to imagine what it would be like. As she settled down to sleep, she realized Ludwik was going to announce her eggs to the whole clan while they were in one place. She shut her outer eye and tried to drift off to sleep, hoping a mob wouldn't come into the nesting grounds to see her eggs. While she was drifting off, she saw Lapis put a stone fertility statue in her nest.


	11. Chapter 11

Sylwia woke up to the sound of whispering. She lifted her head off her arm and listened closely. She couldn't make anything out, but she could tell it was just beyond the wall of the nesting grounds. As she got up to eavesdrop, she realized how on edge she must have been to be disturbed by whispering, but she quickly dismissed all thoughts as she pressed her ear up on the cold, rock wall. She could just barely make out the voices of Apep, Gluarung, and Kinga.

“If you don't go, you'll have betrayed the shadows,” Apep said.

“The shadows don't take well to traitors,” Gluarung added.

“But I'm not old enough to fight,” Kinga whined, her voice strained with fright.

“Do you want the water flight to gain dominance?” Apep asked.

“N-no, but what can I do? I'm not a day old!” Kinga cried.

“Exactly. Imagine the honor that would befall you if you completed this mission. You would be a hero amongst your clanmates,” Gluarung purred in his shadow dragon voice coated with deceit.

“But...they're only hatchlings...just like me,” Kinga whined.

“That's why you have to kill them before they can grow strong,” Gluarung insisted.

Sylwia had heard enough. She bounded out of the nesting grounds and turned sharply to confront the dragons. Apep looked surprised, but Gluarung looked merely annoyed.

“What exactly do you think you're doing?” Sylwia demanded, her whole body tense and ready to spring.

“I'm training this young ice dragon how to fight like a shadow dragon,” Gluarung explained.

“You know very well she's too young to fight, you'll get her killed!” Sylwia shouted.

Apep paled and looked anxiously around, hoping Sylwia's yelling hadn't woken anyone up. Gluarung stared, unfazed at Sylwia's obvious threat to wake up the clan. He slowly stalked up to her, his massive muscles rippling under his scales and his purple eyes gleaming menacingly in the darkness. Sylwia felt her heart jump into her throat. She instinctively tensed, ready to fight for her life. She cast a quick glance at Apep, hoping she wouldn't have to fight him too. Gluarung stopped six feet away and then straightened his back, his eyes never leaving Sylwia's.

“You're a lot like your mother,” Gluarung began. “She was always trying to get in my way. She stood up for your father the same way you're standing up for Kinga-”

There was a pause as Sylwia tried to process what he was saying. Chumana protected Nidhug from Gluarung? She knew Gluarung killed her uncle Attor, but surely Nidhug wouldn't need any protection from a dragon of nearly equal size. Sylwia snapped back to attention as Gluarung quickly dropped into a crouch.

“-In a vulnerable position!” Gluarung finished as he lunged for her throat.

Sylwia felt Gluarung's massive jaw snap firmly shut around her throat, the impact sending her flat on her back. She felt a clawed hand grip her maw and tail firmly, her movements silenced as Gluarung slowly tightened his teeth round her throat. She tried screaming, but couldn't make a sound. She tried to slash him with her claws, but found her arms pinned by his own. As she was desperately squirming to free herself, she suddenly noticed Gluarung was severely battle scarred, reminding her of how many intense battles he had won and close calls he had overcome. Now she could feel the blood trickling down her neck, the scales penetrated by Gluarung's teeth. She felt the blood swell up in her mouth and started choking on it. Just as her vision was starting to fade, a voice penetrated the intense silence.

“What is going on here?” Longwei demanded from the entrance to his den.

Gluarung reluctantly let go, and Sylwia caught a glimpse of Apep releasing her tail. Gluarung wiped the blood off his mouth and turned to face his father, whose composure demanded absolute respect.

“We were merely demonstrating late-night techniques to Kinga,” Gluarung said.

“Inside the lair?” Longwei asked, his voice lined with skepticism.

“Yes. Kinga insisted on staying inside,” Gluarung said, dedicated to his lie.

“I've seen the way you 'train'. You aim for the throat and don't let go until your opponent passes out. This is not training, Gluarung. This is homicide,” Longwei growled.

“No one will ever truly fight their hardest until they've had a near-death experience! They need to know what its like on the battle field before they try learning how to block and parry,” Gluarung argued.

“Gluarung, I hereby forbid your method of training from this clan. No more throat-latching. There are better ways to get someone to fight than trying to kill them,” Longwei said with a wave of his tail.

“No, you're wrong! The only way-”

“Enough!” Longwei bellowed, cutting him off. “If you want to help train your younger clanmates, from now on you take them to the training field.”

Gluarung opened his mouth to speak, but Longwei raised a hand to silence him. He gestured around the lair. Sylwia suddenly noticed half the clan had assembled with an air of annoyance and anger around them. Gluarung cut them down with a glare.

“You can now explain to the clan why they have been woken up, and why it will never happen again,” Longwei said firmly as he turned to reenter his den.

Sylwia felt a wing wrap around her. She looked up and saw her mother, Chumana, her bright hazel eyes shining with worry. She suddenly felt Ludwik next to her, examining her wounds. She dismissed his questioning gaze and turned to Chumana.

“Mother, I have a question,” Sylwia said.

“Come, let's talk in the nesting grounds. Ludwik, you can go back to your nest,” Chumana said, nodding at her son.

Ludwik reluctantly left their side and went back to the dragon dens. Chumana smiled at Sylwia and gently pulled her into the nesting grounds, where she was laid gently with her eggs. Bylinda's sleepy gaze followed them slowly with concern, but Chumana reassured her. Chumana placed a hand gently on Sylwia's wound and mumbled under her breath. Instantly Sylwia could feel the skin stitching itself back together into a wicked scar, but as Chumana kept chanting, the scar tissue faded away, leaving Sylwia with nothing but a patch of missing scales. Sylwia hummed deep in her throat as she felt the magic recede from her body.

“Now, what did you want to ask me?” Chumana said.

“Has father ever had trouble with Gluarung?” Sylwia asked.

Chumana stiffened, her expression worried, but before Sylwia could say anything, something in Chumana's mind clicked. Her face cleared.

“No. Why?” Chumana responded.

“Because Gluarung said I stand up against him the same way you did for my father,” Sylwia explained.

The same distant look returned to her face. She seemed to be contemplating something in her head. After a few moments she stared at Sylwia with some form of emotion Sylwia didn't recognize. Chumana took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

“Wait here. I'm going to get your brother,” Chumana said as she left the nesting grounds.

Sylwia waited a few moments, thousands of questions flying through her head. Why does Chumana need to get Ludwik? What did Gluarung mean if he never attacked Nidhug? She started thinking about her own secrets and realized this might be a good time to tell them. What would Chumana think if she told her about the egg neglecting? Was it safe to talk about what Gluarung was trying to make Kinga do? Should she reveal what Franciszka had told her?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Chumana reentered with Ludwik in toll. Sylwia and Ludwik sat down side by side and watched their mother expectantly. Once again, Chumana took a deep breath.

“There's something important I have to tell you,” Chumana began. “About your father. Your real father.”

“What do you mean?” Ludwik asked, jumping up.

“Nidhug...isn't your father. Attor is- was,” she said, sighing despondently.

“...You mean...” Sylwia couldn't find any words to explain what she was feeling.

“Our father's dead?” Ludwik said, his voice cracking. “And I was always...”

“Why did you lie to us?” Sylwia finally managed.

“I had decided two days before you were born that Attor wasn't fit to raise you, so we had Nidhug step up as your father,” Chumana answered, her head cast downward.

“What could he have done that would have made you lose all faith in him and take away his children?” Sylwia asked, tears in her eyes.

“Sylwia...you have to understand...” Chumana said softly.

“I understand,” Ludwik said. “He wasn't good enough for you so you just left him for his brother like a slut!”

Chumana was stunned into silence. “That's not-”

“I've heard enough. I don't want anymore to do with you,” Ludwik hissed, sprinting out of the nesting grounds.

“Ludwik?” Sylwia called to her brother in shock.

“I'm sorry. I just wanted the best for you two,” Chumana begged.

“I'm going to go after Ludwik,” Sylwia said, avoiding eye contact.

Sylwia took off into the night, the gentle breeze revealing the scent of her fleeing brother. She willed her wings to beat as fast as they could, the grief of her dead father only now overwhelming her five years later. She saw some destroyed trees below her in Wispwillow Grove and landed to investigate.

As the moon settled high above her head, the strange, glowing mushrooms began gathering light, casting a faint glow in the darkness. The path she was walking was lined with these mushrooms, and Sylwia felt herself relax as she watched them sway calmly in the gentle breeze.

Suddenly, she stopped. Sylwia had followed Ludwik to a small clearing surrounded by blue, glowing mushrooms. They pulsed with light and energy, indifferent from the rest of the forest. The pale moonlight shone through the branches of the withering trees, casting a faint light in the damp clearing. Sylwia still marveled at the sight of the grove.

“Do you know what this is?” Ludwik asked, his gaze turned towards the stars.

When Sylwia didn't answer, he turned around slowly, a small, glowing mushroom in his hand. The mushroom shone brightly on his face, the blue hues complimenting his purple eyes. He looked up at Sylwia.

“This is where Chumana and Attor became mates,” he said. “They had something beautiful here but then it was just- thrown away. And for what?”

Ludwik looked longingly at the swaying trees above their heads. He studied the environment around him closely, soaking in the beauty of it. Sylwia found herself staring dazedly at the many mushrooms lining the clearing in wonder.

“I just don't understand,” Ludwik sighed. “It seems as if there's nothing but betrayal between families. Like how Vritra's parent's abandoned him, and Blue's parent's abandoned him, and our grandparents sold mother, and how Gluarung killed his brother. Is there nothing but betrayal in and out of our clan? Is there trust and commitment in any of the flights, or is everyone just as horrible as Gluarung? I wish there were more dragons like us. We would never betray the other and we always have each others' back. Do you get what I'm saying?”

“....Yeah,” Sylwia said, nodding.

“If I could become a leader, I would bring the clans together. Then I would start bringing the flights together, then maybe we could live in harmony. Maybe we could let go of this ancient hate,” Ludwik said, his eyes burning with passion.

“...”

“But of course,” Ludwik said, slouching over. “That's too much to ask for.”

“Yeah, and its too much too ask for a healthy egg,” Sylwia sighed.

Ludwik immediately understood her meaning, but merely shook his head.

“Go tell mother I don't hate her, please. I'm going to sit out here and think,” Ludwik said.

Sylwia nodded, briefly embracing him to show support, then took off on her small yellow wings. On the way back to the dragon lair, for the first time ever Sylwia looked around and appreciated the seemingly peaceful darkness of The Tangled Wood, though she knew it was full of deception and mistrust. She looked off into the distance, where she could see Dragon Home. The sight of the rocky terrain instantly reminded her of Astarot, and how her father had kicked her out because she wasn't the son he wanted. She sighed to herself as she started realizing the truth to Ludwik's words. She cast a glance over her shoulder and could just barely make out the waves of the Sea of a Thousands Currents, reminding her that the Tidelord was about to claim dominance over the realm


	12. Chapter 12

Franciszka, Sylwia, and Ludwik stalked through the damp forest, the bog under their feet muffling the sound of their movements. They silently signaled each other each time they caught a slight swish in the brush, a rustle in the trees, or a snap of a twig. The hunters stiffened as they all caught the same scent of prey through the malodorous air of the rotting forest.

Ludwik crouched down and stalked forward while Sylwia went left, and Franciszka right. There was an intense moment of silence as the three dragons settled into position. Then, fast as a hare, Ludwik leaped from his hiding place and lashed at the familiar that had barely noticed their presence. In a panic, the Crimson Stag flew rapidly away from Ludwik, straight towards Franciszka and Sylwia. The stag, being of exceptional size even for a full grown male, charged Sylwia and managed to throw her off balance. While it's back was exposed, Franciszka latched on and chomped on the back of it's neck. The stag went feral and kicked rapidly in all directions, bucking and raving. The stag kicked Ludwik in the face as he approached, dazing him for a few moments. Sylwia dived in the brawl and bit its throat, which was returned with several kicks in the face. Ludwik, returning from his daze, attacked the feet, tripping the familiar. It landed on its side with Franciszka still attached. In a few swift movements, Ludwik and Sylwia helped put the stag down for good.

Franciszka slowly got to his feet, the prize gripped firmly in his mouth. Sylwia sat down and regained her breath as Ludwik did the same.

“Thanks for inviting us on this hunt,” Sylwia said. “I still needed to clear my head after that thing I was told a couple days ago.”

“Yeah,” Ludwik agreed. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Franciszka said. “Now the clan won't have to worry about starving. I've been tracking this stag for weeks.”

“Now the clan will be able to enjoy the Wavecrest Saturnalia,” Ludwik said.

“Are you two going to the Wavecrest Saturnalia?” Franciszka asked.

“Probably not,” Ludwik said, shrugging.

“Absolutely! Lapis is all the way at the shore of the Sea of a Thousand Currents to find some giant sand dollars for me,” Sylwia said, sighing dreamily.

“He's going to get you a magical emblem?” Franciszka asked.

“He's going to try. But even if he doesn't, just getting to spend some time with him will be nice,” Sylwia said, a smile on her face.

“I'm going to take Bylinda, along with our hatchling,” Franciszka said.

“Wait, your egg hatched today?” Ludwik asked, confused.

“No, it will hatch tomorrow, along with Sylwia's,” Franciszka said, looking pleased.

“Yeah...” Sylwia said, her attention fading.

“Listen, Sylwia,” Franciszka said, sensing her distress. “No matter what happens, you can always do your best to give your hatchling what it needs to live a happy life.”

“But what if its like my father, and the clan rejects it? What if its cursed to be disabled, or hunted, or-” Sylwia was cut off by Ludwik.

“Think of the positives. You're going to have three new hatchlings that you and Lapis will love and raise. You can teach these hatchlings to value family, like so few do,” Ludwik said. “Enjoy your family.”

“Okay, okay. You're right,” Sylwia sighed. “Let's take this stag to the lair.”

* * *

Sylwia and Lapis walked along the sandy shores of the Sea of a Thousand Currents, the afternoon sun mixing the ocean with tints of orange and yellow as the waves lapped lazily at their feet. Behind them, The Tangled Wood sulked ominously in the background, the rotting terrain locked in a state of eternal darkness thanks to the Shadowbinder's dark workings.

This was the month of the Tidelord. Shops would open offering a variety of rare gifts that could only be received once a year. Dragons from all over the realm would join together to celebrate the Wavecrest Saturnalia as the water flight enjoys its newly found dominance. That is, until the week of festive favors are over and the flights continue their raging war for dominance once again.

Both Lapis and Sylwia knew the peace wouldn't last for long, but the two dragons didn't let the thought of impending war bother them. For now, they were at peace with each other and the world. For now, they would soak up the pure joy their company gave the other. For now, they would enjoy the gentle splashing of the waves in the distance as their toes sunk into the pleasant sand. For now, they wouldn't think of the ocean running red with the blood of every dragon in the realm, as each flight tore at each others throat in a war that would never be won.

A large, jolly chest washed up on the shore a few feet in front of them. This box is filled with liquid and encrusted by barnacles. As Lapis pried off the last barnacle the water rushed out, leaving the behind the contents of the chest; a Wavecrest Saturnalia skin, 2,500 gold, and one large gem. The skin was made to fit a female pearlcatcher. Lapis and Sylwia glanced at each other as Kinga came to mind, the little dragon being the only female pearlcatcher in their clan. They both silently agreed to give the skin to the hatchling as a gift, the many gifts to follow the rest of the week on their mind.

* * *

“Let's name him Anarawd,” Sylwia said, pointing at the small, grey white and turquoise fae hatchling.

“That's a good name for a dragon like him,” Lapis said, his eyes shining with approval. “Let's name the ridgeback Folant, because I'm sure he'll grow big and strong.”

Folant puffed his purple chicken-chest out proudly at his parents, his green wings outstretched in what was supposed to be a display of power. Lapis chuckled, amused, and gave his son a friendly clap on the back with his tail.

His unnamed brother pushed past him and stared up at his parents.

“What's my name going to be?” The cursed dragon asked excitedly.

Lapis and Sylwia exchanged a glance before returning it to their son.

“You'll be called Ewein. It means you are well-born, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise,” Sylwia said seriously.

“Okay!” Ewein said, hopping around as the depth of Sylwia's words went over his head.

“Aw, three healthy boys! Congratulations, you two,” Bylinda said from her post at the entrance. “All right, hatchlings, you can go and say hi to the newborns now.”

The instant the words left her mouth, Blue, Kinga, and Bylinda's newborn, Agave rushed into the nesting grounds and straight towards the three brothers. The six dragons immediately started wrestling and scrabbling around, with no worries of the outside world to daunt them. Sylwia stared lovingly at her sons as they playfully tackled blue to the ground, his long, skinny body pinned under the weight of the excited hatchlings.

“What do you think?” Lapis hummed, his satisfaction of his sons shining.

“They still remind me too much of my father and uncles,” Sylwia responded, sighing lightly.

“What's the matter, mother?” Ewein asked, noticing her distress despite his current wrestling match.

“Nothing, child. I'm just tired,” Sylwia responded, giving him a reassuring smile.

Ewein returned the smile with a goofy grin that exposed his stubby teeth. While he was grinning, Folant decided to turn on him and tackle him to the ground. Ewein squealed in joy, playfully swatting his brother across the maw as Blue got to his feet with Anarawd swinging madly from his back. Kinga ran around Blue in a circle squealing in the same pitch as Ewein, the overall sound coming out as a chorus of squeaky screams. Agave stared at the mass of squirming bodies with wide eyes, glanced at Bylinda, then burst out laughing.

“It warms my heart to see them playing like this,” Bylinda said to Sylwia. “When I was a hatchling, I only had you, your brother, Franciszka, and his brothers. Yet the only ones who would play with me were you and Franciszka.”

“Yeah, Izzak and Grzegorz were too busy being jealous of Franciszka to play with him, and Ludwik spent most of his time with Nidhug,” Sylwia agreed.

Suddenly the puny-pawed brawl stopped and all the hatchlings crowded around the older dragons. Sylwia stared at them in surprise as Folant stepped forward.

“Mother, tell these guys who the strongest, bravest, most handsome dragon in the clan is,” Folant said, sticking out his chest.

“Lapis?” Sylwia said jokingly as Folant pouted at her.

“Folant says strength and bravery are the most important things to being a dragon, but Blue and I say its love and compassion,” Kinga said. “Motivation will drive you to be the best you can.”

“But to be the best you can, you'll have to master magic,” Agave said. “Sylwia, Father, Chumana, and Pandora are always talking about how important magic is, they say its what binds dragons together in the first place.”

“What about loyalty? There's power in numbers, and the best way to build your strength is by building trust between your companions. Right, Anarawd?” Ewein said with wide eyes.

“Yup,” Anarawd said, nodding vigorously.

Sylwia stared open-jawed at the hatchlings. She leaned over to Bylinda and whispered in her ear. “Is it normal for them to be talking about things like this so early?” Sylwia asked.

“Yes,” Bylinda whispered back. “Eiko said your uncles had similar debates around this age.”

Sylwia looked back at the hatchlings and suddenly felt her emotions conflicting. All the hatchlings had excellent points at what made a dragon strong, yet Sylwia personally felt herself agreeing with Agave, Kinga, and Blue. She thought about how she had said she would teach them the importance of family, but at the same time she couldn't just choose one quality over the other.

Then an idea sparked in her head. She looked down at the hatchlings who were waiting for her response. Even Bylinda and Lapis seemed to be expecting her to answer. She took a mental breath and slowly began to put her idea into words.

“You all have excellent ideas and brilliant points,” Sylwia began. “But first I have to ask you; if you were asked to fight a flight of dragons and you said yes, what would be your reason behind your answer?”

The hatchlings exchanged confused glances. Sylwia had hoped they would answer right away, but she took their hesitation as time to sort her thoughts more clearly. She snapped back to attention when Folant spoke.

“What does this have to do with being a true dragon?” Folant asked.

“Everything,” Sylwia assured them.

“Then- I'd fight for power and glory! I'd take down anyone who threatens my name,” Folant said, leaping up in the air and landing heavily on his feet.

“Why?” Sylwia questioned further.

“Because-...That's...What dragons do,” Folant said uncertainly.

“Well, that's not why I fight. Does that mean I'm not a true dragon?” Sylwia said in a questioning tone that wasn't too heavy, but carried its point effectively.

“Um...” Folant slowly retreated back into the line of hatchlings.

“When I fight, I fight for my family,” Sylwia said. “I fight with magic and the passion of love to drive all the enemies away. Bylinda isn't a shadow dragon, but her loyalty to the shadows drives her to an extent that few dragons reach. Lapis didn't have magic or family with him, yet he has the strength to protect what is dear to him be it family, friends, or even personal belongings. We all have different qualities that make us great dragons, but what's important is that you use your quality to fight for what you believe in.”

“We fickle shadow dragons of darkness don't hold honor very high, its true, but this place of shadows is our home, and we all fight equally to defend it. If a raid of plague dragons come in and try to rot our home to the core, you could bet your tail we would fight with strength, compassion, magic, and the loyalty of a thousand suns to protect it.”

“You see, young ones, what matters most to us shadow dragons, above all, is our right to live freely in our home of darkness. Even if it were merely the freedom to cheat and steal, we have the right to live the life we want. And whatever path you take to reach this freedom, is up to you.”

As Sylwia spoke, she looked at each dragon in turn, until every dragon in the nest was looking at her with an awe-inspired expression. The hatchlings exchanged glances, new ideas and thoughts rushing through their heads.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Bylinda said after a few moments of silence. “But its late, and you hatchlings should be getting to sleep.”

A chorus of outraged squeals followed after. Just then, Eiko walked into the nesting grounds, and everyone fell silent. It was obvious to the hatchlings that Eiko was a dragon of great authority the moment she walked in due to her composure and mannerism. Eiko approached Sylwia.

“It sounds as if you've got quite the load there,” Eiko said, chuckling. “May I talk to you in private for a moment?”

“Oh, um...Sure, grandmother,” Sylwia said, signaling Bylinda to put the hatchlings to sleep as she left.

Eiko and Sylwia left the nesting grounds just as Apep, Gluarung, and Vritra entered the lair. The three dragons seemed to have been coming back from a hunting trip, as they had prey clamped firmly in their jaws. Apep had a new bird skull outfit covering his wings, chest, and face. Sylwia assumed Apep had received it as a Wavecrest gift from Pandora. As several dragons gathered around to get some food, Eiko turned Sylwia.

“This is what I wanted to talk to you about,” Eiko said.

“Our food?” Sylwia asked.

“Yes,” Eiko nodded. “The other shadow clans have over stocked on food supplies to have a festival feast, leaving us with the scraps.”

“So, you want me to hunt more?”

“Not exactly. I don't expect you to do more labor, as you have your hands full with your hatchlings, but I do want you to be aware that some of the hatchlings may go hungry.”

“Then why don't we feed them first?” Sylwia demanded.

“Its not a matter of who's fed first,” Eiko said calmly. “Our insect and plant stores are depleted. Any dragon who eats plants and insects, hatchling or not, will go hungry.”

“We can't just eat while half of our clan is starving!” Sylwia snarled.

“I'm going to have to ask you to calm down,” Eiko said in her ever smooth voice.

“...I'm sorry, grandmother,” Sylwia sighed. “I know you have a lot to consider as leader of the clan, and I'm sure you would do what you could to feed every mouth.”

“You are a wise young dragon indeed. Very mature for your age. I'm proud you're my kin,” Eiko purred. “I will ask Vritra and Gluarung to go back out and hunt more.”

“Why not Apep too?” Sylwia asked.

“He has four children to raise,” Eiko said. “I value good parental raising as much as I do good hunters.”

“I'm glad you're leader, not many dragons seem to value family anymore.”

“Ludwik said the same. You two are a lot alike.”

“Okay, I'm going to say good night to my sons.”

Sylwia turned to leave, but before she could go, Eiko stopped her. Sylwia gave her grandmother a quizzical look.

“One more thing,” Eiko said. “What do you think of Ludwik becoming leader of the clan?”

“What?” Sylwia said, shocked. “Are you actually considering making Ludwik leader?”

“Yes, but I want your opinion,” Eiko confirmed.

“Well...He really wants it, and I'm sure he would live up to leader expectations...But he's too young to take on that responsibility,” Sylwia fumbled.

“Of course he is. I still have many years left in me, it would be awhile before I chose a successor,” Eiko assured her. “Thank you for your sentiment.”

And with that, Sylwia went into the nesting grounds, and wished her sons a good night.


	13. Chapter 13

During late afternoon, Astarot entered the dragon lair with two water dragon hatchlings. One was a mirror dragon, the other a fae. The mirror dragon was all brown which made her look like she was covered in mud, while the fae was a beautiful sky blue, making her scales look like a flowing river as she walked.

The clan became curious, and soon half of the dragons were assembled and watching the three dragons silently. Astarot called out for Eiko, her voice resonating in the now quiet cave. Eiko walked calmly out of her den with Longwei, who had become a rare sight for the clan as he was always off somewhere.

Eiko glanced at the gathered dragons, Astarot, and the hatchlings, and quietly sighed as she guessed what was about to happen. She cleared her throat and leaped down from the entrance to her den. Longwei stayed behind, watching with interest.

Sylwia stared at the little hatchlings as she began to feel her foresight kick in for the first time in several days. She sensed their future fear and confusion, and and she waited, she began to feel their future relief. Sylwia glanced at Franciszka, the purple and red skydancer was already looking her way. He nodded as if sensing her question, confirming his own foresight.

“Astarot,” Eiko greeted the tundra. “What have you brought among us?”

“Two hatchlings in desperate need of a home,” Astarot said.

Instantly, the clan gave a mixed chorus of outraged growls, unwelcoming glares, and uncertain whispers. Eiko raised a hand to silence them. Sylwia looked around quickly to see which dragons were present for this oncoming clan meeting. She saw Franciszka, Gluarung, Nidhug, Apep, Vritra, Pandora, Bylinda, and all of the hatchlings.

“This is outrageous. We have no room for more hatchlings,” Eiko said, gesturing to the hatchlings huddled by Sylwia.

“But these two need a home!” Astarot protested.

“Who is to raise them? Our males are constantly out hunting to prevent starvation, and most of our females have their hands full, including you,” Eiko said, pointing out Vritra.

Vritra hunched over and started breathing heavily, obviously having a hard time controlling his natural fire dragon temper. Being referred to as a hatchling and the son of Astarot at the same time was a huge insult to him, as the latter is not biologically true.

“We couldn't possibly provide these hatchlings with the food or care they need,” Eiko continued. “Give them to another clan.”

“Eiko, I must ask you to reconsider,” Pandora said in a quiet, gentle voice.

“We have enough orphans to nurse as it is,” Gluarung snarled.

Vritra flinched; he had taken Gluarung as his fatherly figure after he fiercely rejected his first one. To hear Gluarung say that must make him feel like an unwanted burden, not that Gluarung would care if he knew.

“Why not listen to Pandora? She's been right about a lot of things before,” Apep said in defense of his mate.

“Fool! You already have three sons and one daughter. What more do you want?” Gluarung hissed, furious at being openly defied by his minion.

Sylwia thought about how Kinga was adopted as well and realized that the daycare service was getting a little out of hand. She tried to imagine why Apep would want an adopted daughter when he already had three sons. She also thought back to the way Gluarung, Vritra, and Apep smiled deviously to each other when they heard about Blue's abandonment. She suddenly realized something that should have been obvious before; they wanted to train their own loyal soldiers to join their alliance. Since Grzegorz, Izzak, and Franciszka were raised by Pandora as well as Apep, they know more about the ways outside of The Tangled Wood, The Ashfall Waste, and The Scarred Wasteland, and were therefore more humble and just. However, with Kinga it was a fresh start, so he could keep her to himself while he took her hunting and taught her their corrupted ways. Now only one thing was missing; why didn't Gluarung want anymore new hatchlings?

“I agree. We have too many adopted hatchlings in this clan,” Nidhug said sadly, looking at Vritra, Blue, Kinga, Ludwik, Sylwia, and the two hatchlings.

“Please, you can't send these dragons away,” Astarot begged. “I'll leave the clan if food is a problem. One less mouth should feed two small ones, right?”

“What is your problem with stealing eggs?” Vritra mumbled.

“Excuse me? I rescued these two! If I hadn't shown up, they would've died,” Astarot snapped.

“Who knows for sure? No one was with you when you 'rescued' these two, and no one was around when you 'found' me, save for Attor,” Vritra snapped back. “And he was a rascal, he never did anything productive, and for all we know, he could've been a thief!”

“That's enough!” Eiko bellowed. “I don't care what issues you may have had with Attor, you will not insult him when he is gone.”

“He deserves it!” Vritra hissed rabidly.

“Do you want to know the truth about you father?” Astarot demanded.

“...What do you mean?” Vritra asked, his glare wavering.

“I never told anyone this, I believed it was for the better,” Astarot began, locking eyes with Vritra. “But I did know who your father was. I met him at the Emberglow Hearth.”

“You see? Lies and slander!” Vritra cried.

“Do you want to know what he was doing, Vritra? Do you really want to know?” Astarot asked.

“He was trying to protect my land from filth like you!” Vritra claimed.

Gluarung and Apep shifted uncomfortably as he referred to The Ashfall Waste as his land.

“No. He was trying to destroy the fire flight. He wasn't even a real fire dragon!” Astarot roared. “Whatever his reasons, he was trying to kill you and all the hatchlings in the flight. The dragons that attacked us were a part of this scheme. Apep lured us into The Blacksand Annex right in the middle of an internal fire flight crisis.”

“You make it sound as if we planned the whole thing,” Apep said coolly.

“I never said anything about a 'we',” Astarot spat.

“This has gone far enough!” Eiko declared. “I will not have these accusations fly around my clan unchecked.”

“This has been ignored long enough,” Sylwia said.

“Sylwia? How dare you!” Eiko growled.

“If this isn't let out, it will continue to build and destroy our clan,” Sylwia reasoned.

“You can keep your lies!” Vritra vociferated. “My father would never do that!”

“If that's what you want to believe, fine! But I'm not going to pretend just so you can keep your foolish fire dragon pride,” Astarot snarled. “Your loyalty lies not to the shadows, it lies to yourselves.”

“How could you say that when we've been hunting for the clan all day and all night?” Gluarung sneered. “You're not even a shadow dragon, you're just a lovesick puppy who's upset about your blind pursuit being demolished.”

“Say what you will about me, but you can't hide the facts,” Astarot said, fuming.

“What facts?” Gluarung crowed. “I don't see a father sending me away for traitorous actions.”

“That's not why I left and you know it!” Astarot screamed, lunging for Gluarung.

Gluarung gladly entered battle with her, his jaw instinctively snapping for Astarot's throat. Astarot, prepared for this course of action, suddenly jumped over Gluarung. Momentarily confused, Gluarung spun on his heel to face the tundra, only to get a gash across his face. Astarot dashed in and out, never staying in close quarters with Gluarung for long. Gluarung was obviously used to rushing his opponent and taking them down, but he was still skilled in combat, and left his fair share of gashes across Astarot's face.

“Enough of this! You are both children of the Shadowbinder, you should not be fighting amongst yourselves!” Eiko said as she rushed to intercept.

In one continuous moment, Eiko leaped from the rock, distracting Astarot, Gluarung swiped her across the throat, sending a fountain of blood spewing from her neck, and in the next instant, he charged Eiko.

Eiko hit the ground and Gluarung jumped on top in an attempt to pin her down. Longwei's roar shook the entire lair as he flew directly into Gluarung's side, knocking him windless. Gluarung fought vigorously as Apep and Vritra joined in. Suddenly, the entire gathering was in chaos. Before Sylwia could decide what to do, Izzak smashed her in the back of the head with a rock, and all went black.


	14. Chapter 14

Sylwia slowly opened her outer eye and grunted in pain as her head began to throb. Standing around her, concern reflecting in their eyes, was Grzegorz, Ludwik, Chumana, Lapis, and Franciszka. Memories of Astarot's blood painting the floor flooded her mind. She instinctively tried to get up, but pain shot through her body, and Lapis laid her back down.

“Easy there,” Lapis said soothingly. “You're hurt.”

“What happened?” Sylwia grunted.

“Izzak turned on us, the traitor,” Ludwik hissed.

“Hey, don't talk that way about my brother,” Franciszka snarled.

“Look what he did to my sister!” Ludwik spat, turning on Franciszka.

“Wait, what about Astarot?” Sylwia asked.

“She's okay, Gluarung missed her vital nerve,” Chumana assured her.

“Did anyone else get hurt?” Sylwia asked.

There was a moment of silence as the other dragons glanced sadly at each other. They started whispering as Sylwia watched in confusion. Finally, Ludwik stepped forward.

“Eiko's dead,” Ludwik said mournfully. “Vritra killed her.”

“Where are they now?” Sylwia demanded, jumping up.

“Calm down,” Franciszka said. “Gluarung, Vritra, Apep, Izzak, and Agave were run out.”

“Why Agave?” Sylwia asked.

“There was an...accident. Involving Ewein,” Lapis said.

“No...” Sylwia sprung out of the nest and zipped between the dragons.

Sylwia rushed into the lair and went straight towards the nesting grounds, hardly noticing the destruction around her. When she got inside the nesting grounds, she saw the hatchlings huddled up facing the corner. She slowly approached them, afraid of what she might, or might not, see.

“Where's Ewein?” Sylwia asked shakily. “Where's my son?”

“I'm here, mother,” Ewein said, stepping out from the center of the huddled hatchlings.

Sylwia gasped in shock as she stared at her son's disfigured face. His once large, purple eyes appeared as if they were melted. The sockets were oval shaped and the eyes were completely white. His jaw was crooked and his once stubby teeth were now jagged and in rows. His ears were evidently burned off and the fins on his face and neck were scaled and freakishly larger than normal.

“What happened to you?” Sylwia breathed.

“A magical accident,” Pandora said, entering the grounds.

“Can you reverse it?” Sylwia asked.

“I'm afraid not. Though I could try, there's a ninety nine point nine percent chance I will only worsen his current state,” Pandora said, shaking her head.

“So, what? He'll look like this forever?” Sylwia demanded.

“Thanks to Agave, yes,” Pandora confirmed. “Though I'm sure she's sorry for doing this to your son, we have her living in her own den not too far from here until she learns to control her magic properly.”

“When she figures it out, do you think she can fix Ewein?” Sylwia inquired.

“Fix what? What's wrong with me, mother?” Ewein whimpered. “Why is everyone looking at me funny?”

“There's nothing wrong with you, my dear,” Sylwia purred. “You are my son and to me, you are perfect.”

Sylwia embraced all of her sons together and squeezed them tight. Folant didn't seem to notice anything different about his disfigured brother, but Sylwia was sure he was pretending. However, Anarawd seemed a bit uncomfortable being so close to Ewein's bleached eyes.

“Is Ewein going to be okay?” Anarawd asked Sylwia.

Sylwia glanced at Pandora, who nodded.

“He'll be fine, sweethearts,” Sylwia assured them.

“What about grandmother?” Folant asked.

This time Sylwia didn't answer, instead she apprehensively told them to get some rest. Sylwia slowly trudged out of the nesting grounds, once she left, the destruction the clan had wrought on themselves suddenly hit her.

The walls were crumbled, the cracked ceiling threatening to cave in at any time. Several dragons still lied around the lair, groaning in pain as their clanmates tended to their wounds. Almost every dragon was looking at the other in suspicion, ready to spring if one should decide to start the fight all over again.

After listening around, Sylwia realized that the clan was debating who should be the next leader. She had assumed that since Longwei was Eiko's mate, he would take charge, but that wasn't the case. As a guardian dragon, Longwei chose Eiko to be his charge. Now that she is dead, he is considered only half a dragon by others of his breed due to failure to protect her. The next obvious choice was Nidhug, yet he didn't seem like he wanted the responsibility. Expectant glances went from Pandora, to Franciszka, both who refused to step up. It then went from Astarot, to Lapis, to Bylinda, who were rejected in the end due to not being shadow-born. Finally, they looked at Grzegorz, Sylwia, and Ludwik, who were all too young to lead.

Finally, Chumana pulled Nidhug over and spoke quietly to him. The clan continued to debate amongst themselves as the two dragons glanced uncertainly at their clanmates. Sylwia suddenly noticed that Kinga had slipped out of the nesting grounds and was gossiping with the younger dragons. She rolled her eyes; as a pearlcatcher, Kinga habitually chitchatted about tidbits with other dragons. Sylwia walked over to Kinga, who was currently chatting with Grzegorz.

“-And I heard Apep has a nephew named Attor, isn't that ironic?” Kinga was saying.

“Really?” Grzegorz asked, interest gleaming in his purple eyes.

“Yeah, his brother, Holand, is another plague dragon who joined the shadow flight, actually. And I hear he's-” Kinga hesitated.

“He's what?” Grzegorz insisted.

“Well...let's just say we have a lot of cousins,”Kinga finished.

“A-hem!” Sylwia cleared her throat.

“What?” Kinga asked.

“Shouldn't you be sleeping? Do I have to call Bylinda?” Sylwia threatened.

“Its fine, she's with me,” Grzegorz said.

“She has to rest. This isn't the time or place for a hatchling her age to be gossiping,” Sylwia huffed.

“I guess you're right,” Grzegorz conceded. “Alright, sis. Off to the nest.”

“Okay, but can I say one more thing?” Kinga pleaded.

“No,” Grzegorz said. “You heard her, off to the nest.”

Kinga bounded away just as Nidhug walked into the center of the lair, where Eiko used to stand. The clan instinctively gathered around him and waited for his announcement. When the entire clan had gathered, Nidhug cleared his throat.

“First, and foremost, I have decided to lead the clan with Chumana by my side,” Nidhug declared.

Satisfied murmurs of approval spread through the crowd of dragons. Sylwia smiled at her mother, proud of her courage in stepping up in the midst of chaos.

“Secondly, we'd like to bring the threat of the lightning dragons to attention,” Chumana said. “They have gained dominance.”

Sylwia ducked her head down in shame as she remembered allowing the group of lightning dragons to escape. Perhaps if she and Ludwik had killed those dragons, it would have made a difference in the war. Sylwia tried to lock gazes with Ludwik, as if to mentally ask if he thought the same thing, but his attention was on Nidhug.

“Tomorrow, we want every single hatchling outside the dragon lair to begin training,” Nidhug said. “Chumana and I have hand-picked a couple dragons whom we believe are fit to train the hatchlings not only in combat, but in loyalty.”

“Yes,” Chumana nodded. “Those dragons are: Ludwik, Sylwia, Grzegorz, and Franciszka.”

Sylwia was surprised Grzegorz was on the list; he spent most of his time in the lair doing nothing but small exercises. Sylwia glanced at the young pearlcatcher, at his charcoal black body that brought out his pink wings and his mischievous purple gaze, and wondered what influence he would be to the hatchlings.

“Franciszka and Sylwia will train the hatchlings in magic early in the morning,” Nidhug stated. “By afternoon, Ludwik will teach them combat, and by night, Grzegorz will show them how to become one with the shadows.”

“What do you mean?” Astarot asked.

“Grzegorz is a true shadow dragon down to the pit of his heart,” Chumana explained. “He will teach them nocturnal hunting, fighting, and magic. He will also teach them the ideals of shadow dragons.”

“What about Agave?” Bylinda asked.

“Agave will be trained with the others under the watchful eye of her father,” Nidhug said. “That way, there won't be anymore...accidents.”

The clan gave each other uneasy glances at the thought of Ewein's disfigurement.

“That'll be all for tonight,” Chumana said. “You may return to the dens.”

Sylwia and Bylinda walked side by side into the nesting grounds, yawning. Inside the grounds, Ewein and Folant were sleeping soundly in their nest together, while Anarawd snored just next to it. Kinga and Blue were sleeping in a nest together. Kinga's limbs were sprawled out lazily as Blue coiled his body protectively around her. Sylwia looked at the nest that was going to belong to Claudine and Corine. Finding it empty meant the hatchlings weren't accepted in the clan.

Sylwia looked longingly at the peaceful hatchlings, the worry for their future overwhelming. Sylwia's distress was once again picked up, and Bylinda wrapped a wing around her reassuringly.

“They'll be okay, Grzegorz and Ludwik combined will teach them how to be true shadow dragons,” Bylinda said.

“What do any of us know about being shadow dragons?” Sylwia argued. “Our entire older generation is gone! We have no one to properly teach us. The only dragons here who know anything about shadow dragon ideals are Nidhug and Longwei, and Longwei is going to leave in service of the Shadowbinder tomorrow.”

“And that's why Nidhug is leader,” Bylinda said. “Trust him, he'll find a way to pass down Eiko's teachings.”

“I hope you're right, for the sake of the clan,” Sylwia sighed.

***

The next day, Sylwia and Franciszka took Blue, Kinga, Ewein, Folant, Anarawd, and Agave, out into the training fields to teach them the basics of magic. Blue and Kinga were barely paying attention to where they were walking, they were too busy talking and laughing. Anarawd kept giving Ewein funny looks when he wasn't looking, and Ewein was trying to shake off Agave's excessive apologizing for the accident. Folant was the only one following with his full attention on his teachers.

Sylwia sighed inwardly as her foresight kicked in for the first time in a while, telling her there was about to be a lot of fear and distress in a few minutes. She assumed some kind of fight would break out between the hatchlings, and she and Franciszka would have to break it up, following it with a lecture on how shadow dragons should behave. Sylwia glanced at Franciszka, but he didn't seem to be picking up the same vibes. Then Sylwia remembered that Franciszka could only read the distant future.

When they approached the training fields, Sylwia heard splashing and sucking sounds. She turned to see all the hatchlings jumping and rolling around in the mud in the field, soaking their scales in the muck. Sylwia felt a growl and the urge to yell at them to pay attention rise up in her throat. Instead, she glared at them in silent disappointment. Everyone but Blue seemed to have got the message, and stopped playing. Sylwia smacked Blue in the back of the head with her tail and told him to focus.

“Pay attention to Franciszka,” Sylwia growled.

“Yes, Sylwia,” the hatchlings said in unison.

“The first rule of magic is patience and discipline,” Franciszka said. “I want all of you to relax and examine your surroundings.”

The hatchlings glanced around the fields, confused looks on their faces. They seemed as if they were looking for something, but upon seeing nothing but field, they grew frustrated.

“What are we supposed to see?” Anarawd asked.

“If you concentrate, you can feel magic weaving its way through space,” Sylwia said. “Don't focus on one thing, but all things.”

“Um, for now, just try to be more aware of where you are,” Franciszka said, seeing the bafflement on the hatchlings' faces.

“I can feel it!” Agave exclaimed. “Its all around us, and its beautiful.”

“I think I feel something too,” Ewein said uncertainly. “Does it feel like a rush of water intricately moving through your body?”

“That's the one,” Sylwia said proudly. “Though its easier for fae dragons to connect with the magic world.”

“Then why can't I feel anything?” Anarawd complained.

“You're not focusing enough, my dear,” Sylwia explained. “Is something tainting your mind?”

“Um...no,” Anarawd mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“Then lets move on to the next step; discipline,” Franciszka said.

The dragons spent the next couple of hours doing discipline techniques, learning to harness their true magical potential one exercise after the other. Kinga, Anarawd, and Ewein did excellent in all the techniques, whereas Folant and Blue had slight trouble concentrating.

The sun was directly above head, indicating it was time to bring the hatchlings to Ludwik. Sylwia and Franciszka rallied up the hatchlings to take them back to the lair for more training, when a giant boulder slammed next to Anarawd, causing him to squeal in terror. The earth trembled and split apart, a deafening roar overtaking the quiet field. Kinga and Blue jumped away just as the earth yawned into a giant pit where they had been standing. The sun was blotted out as the earth flight flew overhead and swooped down to enter battle.

“Get the hatchlings out of here!” Franciszka bellowed as he turned his attention to the oncoming flight.

Sylwia quickly scooped up the hatchlings closest to her and ordered the others to climb on her back. Before they could all climb aboard, however, Sylwia was tackled by a pearlcatcher dragon. The hatchlings went sprawling across the grass as the pearlcatcher jumped speedily out of range. With the load off her back, Sylwia turned to face the pearlcatcher, only to find she had run away the moment Sylwia's handicap was removed. Sylwia huffed angrily at the typical pearlcatcher cowardice.

Sylwia realized that other shadow clans had joined the fight and were filling the air with their battle cries. An earth spiral dragon zipped overhead and cast magic at Sylwia. She quickly dodged and returned with a spell of her own. She summoned a fire ball and shot it at the spiral. As expected of a spiral, it zipped out of reach long before it was in danger, and cast another spell, this one sending the ground below her in a tremor. When she jumped out of the way of the splitting ground, the spiral rushed her. That was a fatal mistake on the spiral's part. As the spiral closed the distance between them, Sylwia snapped at one of it's six wings. Her teeth latched onto their target, ripping the leathery wings to shreds. Both Sylwia and the spiral knew the fight was over then and there. Raising a talon up to the fallen dragon's throat, she swiftly took it's life.

Taking in the battle grounds, Sylwia scanned the field for the hatchlings, yet she found none. Her heart beat steadily sped up as she felt herself creeping into a panic. Her small body size allowed her to creep between the vicious teeth and claws of the warring dragons as she carried out her search for her hatchlings. Sylwia wasn't particularly worried about the younger dragons; they had been taught plenty of evasive and defensive maneuvers should the need to use them arrive. It was Ewein Sylwia was worried about. Although Ewein's face had been permanently deformed, Sylwia wasn't about to bet that was the end of his curse.

Finally, Sylwia was able to spot Kinga in the field fiercely fighting alongside Blue. The two dragons were fighting a coatl dragon. The coatl was furiously snapping at the young dragons. It was obviously holding nothing back as it rammed into them when it got the chance and blasted them with rocks and magic. Kinga stood at a distance and rushed in when she was certain she wouldn't get a face full of claw. Blue zipped around overhead, infuriating the coatl with well placed blows on it's back and wings. Sylwia was about to assist them, when an eerie shriek pierced the air.

Turning around, Sylwia saw Folant and Ewein surrounded by several earth dragons. Folant had a look of horror frozen on his face while Ewein was laying on the ground bleeding from his side. In one bound, she had crossed the distance between her hatchlings and herself, and had positioned herself in a battle stance. The first dragon she saw was an earth tundra, so she dived in and slashed it across the throat, taking it by surprise. Though it was against her natural instinct as a fae dragon to rush into battle, her motherly instinct told her to do whatever it took to keep her hatchlings safe. She took the next one down just as swiftly while it was distracted by the spewing blood. The third one was a snapper dragon. Sylwia hesitated for all but a moment before charging underneath the snapper and sending a burst of magic loose on its soft underbelly. The snapper's stomach tore open as Sylwia's magic ripped through its flesh. The other four dragons consisted of one skydancer, one mirror dragon, one tundra, and one fae. These ones were prepared for Sylwia's attacks, and sent the tundra in first.

The tundra began the fight with a strong blast of earth magic. As Sylwia prepared to intercept it with her own magic, the mirror dragon dove in and landed on her back. Sylwia felt searing pain tear through her wings as the mirror dragon ran its claws along her sides. She attempted to throw the mirror off balance, but the skydancer helped pin her down with a stomp to the head. The fae cast a spell of binding over Sylwia, allowing the other dragons to engage in a full out attack. These four were evidently well trained in working together. In the middle of the onslaught, Folant charged the mirror dragon, managing to ram the spikes on the tip of his head into it's ribcage. The mirror reeled in surprise and hissed savagely at the young ridgeback dragon.

Before the dragons had a chance to turn on Folant, Franciszka swooped in and blasted the fae with a wall of black magic. The fae lost it's concentration, releasing the binding spell on Sylwia. He then landed right in front of Folant and gashed the mirror dragon across the face. The mirror dragon reeled again, this time to feel Folant's claws rake down it's stomach. The mirror dragon lurched, then fell. Folant stared in shock at the dead body as Sylwia created another one out of the fae. After seeing every single one of its comrades fall, the skydancer turned to flee, only to be instantly killed by a brutal blow to the skull by Gluarung.

“We didn't need your help,” Sylwia spat.

“Is that what you thought I was doing?” Gluarung smirked. “I was only fighting in favor of our flight. You should try it sometime.”

“You have some nerve-” Sylwia began, crouching into an attack position.

The fight ended before it began when the arcane flight arrived. Sylwia, Franciszka, and Folant looked up in silence as the plague flight arrived soon after, then the water flight, lightning, wind, light, fire, nature, and ice. The worn out dragons looked on tiredly as the new competition arrived. Sylwia quickly realized that this was more than just a disagreement between two flights, this was a fight for dominance, and it was taking place right here. It seemed as if the lightning flight's dominance was quickly objected if all the flights were fighting for dominance so soon after it was gained.

Sylwia looked around her and realized that all the hatchlings were assembled around her and Franciszka. Even Ewein was standing again, after some quick healing magic performed by Franciszka. Sylwia looked up into the sky filled with the battle cries of hundreds upon hundreds of dragons, and felt the adrenaline pump through her veins. This was the perfect time to teach the hatchlings what it meant to be a shadow dragon. It wasn't about ideals, it wasn't about birth right, and it wasn't about the way you fought. It was about fighting alongside the Shadowbinder and your clan in a noble fight to gain dominance for your deity. And it was going to be a lot of fun.


	15. Chapter 15

Ewein waited in boredom for the next training lesson to take place. The fight for dominance that took place the other day resulted in the shadow flight's dominance. The clan was so satisfied with the way the hatchlings had handled themselves, that they decided to skip the combat training and give them the next morning and afternoon off. Ludwik was a bit upset he didn't get his time with the hatchlings, but he agreed that they deserved the time off.

Ewein sighed and looked at his brother, Anarawd, who was keeping his distance. At this point it was obvious to Ewein that Anarawd was uncomfortable with his looks, and it hurt. He looked at his brother, Folant, who was waiting enthusiastically, as if every second they spent laying down was the training itself.

Ewein thought about his father in his boredom. He thought about how he left to do something important, but no one in the clan would tell him where he went because they were busy rebuilding their trust and dens. The more Ewein thought about his father, Lapis, the more he could visualize him. He slowly closed his eyes and thought about his father's blue hide and scaly wings. He imagined him beating his wings fiercely in a strong, westward wind that was trying to carry him all the way to The Windswept Plateau. He then realized that he wasn't controlling the images in his head, and that the image of his father was moving in more detail than he remembered. His eyes jerked open when a hand nudged his side.

“What troubles you, my child?” Sylwia purred sweetly.

“Nothing,” Ewein said reassuringly. “Its just...”

“Hmm?”

“I had these visions.”

“What kind of visions?” Sylwia asked, her voice serious.

“I saw father flying in The Sea of a Thousand Currents,” Ewein confessed.

“Really?” Sylwia said, fascinated.

“Yeah. Is that where he actually is, or-?”

“No one told you that's where he went? Impressive; even young fae dragons aren't usually able to tap into magic and use it to observe their surroundings so efficiently,” Sylwia praised.

“Wait, you mean I used magic to see-?” Ewein fumbled.

Agave, who had been allowed in the dragon lair due to the approaching training lesson, bounded over to Ewein and stared at him in wide-eyed amazement.

“Wow! That's amazing,” she gasped. “How'd you do it?”

“I don't think that's any of your business,” Sylwia said with a hint of a growl.

“I don't know,” Ewein shrugged. “Maybe I'm just awesome like that.”

Agave giggled lightheartedly with Ewein. As the hatchlings laughed, Sylwia's growl died in her throat. Ewein thought Agave sounded a lot like his grandmother with her kind, gentle voice and sweet nature. He smiled brightly at Agave as she quickly avoided his gaze. At first, Ewein was confused, but then he guessed that she was scared by his rows of jagged teeth.

“Mother, are we finally going to go training with Grzegorz?” Folant asked.

“Yes,” Sylwia answered. “He's going to make sure that you and Ewein know what to do in case a group of dragons jump you again.”

“Oh, about that...” Folant mumbled, looking at Ewein guilty.

Sylwia didn't know it, but it wasn't the dragons that had injured Ewein the other day, it was Folant. His brother didn't mean to do it, of course, but the spikes covering Folant's body had found a mark on Ewein. Folant made Ewein promise not to tell mother because he was afraid he would be sent away until he was fully trained, like Agave. Fortunately, Sylwia didn't seem to hear Folant, as she was focused on explaining to the new hatchlings what was going on.

All the hatchlings were going to leave in a few hours, giving them time to explore either the woods, or simply talk to their elders. Kinga, of course, chose to gossip with as many dragons as she could. Anarawd went to Ludwik in hopes of getting some extra combat training before hand. The other dragons went off without saying what they'd be doing. Ewein was going to try and join Anarawd and his uncle, when Agave stopped him.

“I was wondering if you'd teach me all that stuff about magic,” Agave said.

Ewein was surprised Agave had asked him to help her with magic, since she was the daughter of Franciszka. He even felt a little resentment in helping the dragon who disfigured his face. But looking at Agave now, Ewein realized he held no grudge against her personally, and it would probably help everyone if she got as much practice as possible.

“I don't know much,” Ewein said, shrugging. “It came naturally. But I'll try.”

For the next few hours, Ewein and Agave practiced tapping into their magic. Ewein explained to Agave how he made the visions appear in his head, and told her to recall every detail she could manage about the nesting rounds. Agave shut her eyes and concentrated really hard. Perhaps to hard, Ewein thought, as her body began to spasm. He told her to relax, and simply recall the location, as if it were a treat to think about. He then convinced Folant to help them by going into the nesting grounds and doing random things. It took awhile, but eventually Agave opened her eyes and provided Ewein with a description of what Folant was doing. After asking Folant for confirmation, they discovered she was wrong. Ewein had Folant go back inside, and gave Agave a demonstration. He imagined the nesting grounds, but instead of thinking about every detail, he found that he could now think the name, and the image would appear. He saw Folant running along the nesting ground walls in a circle, leaping every once and a while. Ewein opened his eyes, surprised at how much clearer and easier the image had been to access.

“What is it? You look surprised,” Agave observed.

“It was easier for me that time,” Ewein explained. “Every time I use it, it gets easier.”

“That's cool,” Agave said, drooping her head.

“What's wrong?” Ewein asked.

“Nothing, I guess I'm just jealous that its so easy for you,” Agave sighed.

“Well, my mother and grandmother practice magic all the time, its probably just genetics,” Ewein said, trying to cheer her up. “You'll get it.”

Agave tried to flash a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. She thanked Ewein for practicing with her and then walked away. Folant came out of the nesting grounds soon after, dizzy.

“Did it work?” Folant asked.

“Not for her,” Ewein replied.

“I hope she gets the hang of it,” Folant said.

“Me too.”

A pattering of feet alerted them to the presence of Kinga. She was out of breath, and took a second to respond. Folant and Ewein waited expectantly for Kinga to recover.

“We're leaving already,” Kinga gasped. “Hurry it up, chumps.”

And with that, she bounded away. Folant and Ewein hastily raced after her and towards the entrance of the lair. When they reached the gaping mouth of the entrance, they were immediately greeted by the rotting stench of The Tangled Wood. Home sweet home, Ewein thought happily. The hatchlings stumbled down the slight hill that led to the boggy ground of Driftwood Drag, their scales getting coated in mud as they went. When they reached the bottom, all of the hatchlings were looking on in confusion; Grzegorz was no where in sight. They tried to peer through the darkness of the trees, but only Blue had the eyes that would allow him to see through the veil.

Two purple eyes blinked open in the shadows, followed by a savage hiss. There was a flash of fangs and claws, and then a startled squeak as Grzegorz lashed out and pinned Kinga to the ground. Kinga's eyes were wide and panicked, like a dramatic chipmunk. Grzegorz let Kinga up and slowly turned to glare at each and every hatchling. He hissed for them to follow, and then disappeared into the woods. Ewein followed Grzegorz into the darkness, the woods swallowing his surroundings in a thick veil of fungi and bog.

“Hey, what are we learning?” Folant shouted at Grzegorz's figure.

Grzegorz turned sharply on Folant and said, “First, you need to learn to shut up.”

Folant looked at him curiously but kept silent. Grzegorz continued to trek through the woods without giving explanation of where they were going. They twisted and turned through countless trees and jumped over rotting logs filled with mold. They stumbled through leech infested bogs and ducked under thorn coated bushes. The journey seemed to go on forever, without a single explanation.

Finally, Grzegorz came to a halt. Turning to the weary hatchlings, he sniffed disdainfully and told everyone to find their way back. Ewein's heart sank. He looked around the cluttered space they had stopped in, and struggled to see a mere ten feet in front of him. He sniffed the air, hoping to find a scent trail, only to realize their scents overlapped each other several times and the stench of the woods covered most of it.

“How are we supposed to find our way back?” Kinga demanded. “That's impossible!”

“That's the first thing that's wrong with this generation,” Grzegorz hissed. “You ask too many questions, and you don't respond well to ill-treatment. You need to learn to shut your mouths, look around, and listen. If you can't do that, a couple days lost in the woods should help.”

And then Grzegorz just flew away. You could almost hear everyone's heart stop as the hatchlings began to grasp their situation. They glanced from side to side, everyone expecting someone else to take charge. It was then that Ewein began to understand Grzegorz's methods. Grzegorz realized that a lot of these hatchlings weren't used to exploring or stepping up, as a result of all the drama with Gluarung. Grzegorz was trying to train them to be independent before he taught them how to be shadow dragons.

Ewein started to walk the way they came, and was alarmed when he heard the footsteps of everyone following him. He turned angrily and spat.

“What are you guys doing?” Ewein demanded.

“We thought you knew where you were going...” Anarawd said, shocked at his brother's violent reaction.

“Well, I don't. Try to figure something out on your own, would you?”

Ewein dashed away as quickly as he could in hopes the others would be forced to find their own way. As he was running, he looked down and became distracted by how fast the ground seemed to be moving under his feet. Looking ahead, he didn't seem to be moving any faster than he normally ran, but still, it was an interesting thought. He stopped abruptly at the sound of rattling in the underbrush. A large, snake-like creature slithered out into the bog, and turned an intense, reptilian stare towards Ewein. Ewein was surprised at his own courage when he growled fiercely at the familiar. The familiar wasn't as impressed.

The snake lashed out as fast as lightning and struck Ewein on the shoulder. Ewein surprised himself again when he didn't make a sound. He slashed at the snake as fast as he could with his small claws, but missed by a long shot. The snake, eager to have its meal, coiled around Ewein before he could react. Struggling to breathe, Ewein inhaled all the air his lungs could manage, and let loose a jet of flame from his mouth. The snake, obviously not expecting so much resistance, released Ewein and fled into the darkness.

Ewein paused for a moment, the adrenaline still pumping in his ears, before breaking out into a wide grin and giving a gleeful holler. A twig snapping behind him made his gleeful expression change back to a fierce one in an instant. Agave appeared from behind a rotting tree, a look of horror mixed with awe on her face. Ewein relaxed but kept a stern expression on his face.

“Why did you follow me?” He asked.

“I-I...I thought...” Agave stuttered. “How did you do that?”

“I don't know, it came naturally,” Ewein shrugged, not willing to change the subject.

“Okay...” Agave sighed. “Sorry I followed you. I just- wanted to talk, I guess. I know, its stupid.”

Ewein was surprised. He wasn't sure how to react to Agave's confession, nor was he sure what that meant. He assumed she felt guilty about what she did to his face and didn't want him to feel lonely. He felt his own guilt whelm up inside him as he tried to talk to Agave.

“Look, Agave-”

“Don't. Its fine,” Agave mumbled before running away.

Ewein was going to pursue, when he figure she had no where to go anyways. He thought he may as well let her have her space and actually focus on what they were supposed to be doing. He figured he would just forget about her, but he found that every step he took was filled with thoughts about Agave. After wandering aimlessly with nothing but worried thoughts of Agave in his head, Ewein suddenly saw her in the Driftwood Drag. She was not by the dragon lair, but by the bank of the river delta, staring longingly into the distance. Ewein sighed and dismissed any thoughts of comforting her; she needed to figure this one out on her own. He turned his sights on his brother, Folant, who, to Ewein's amazement, was already in the dragon's lair. He looked at Anarawd, who hadn't moved since Ewein left, then to Kinga who was stumbling around foxfire bramble with Blue. Ewein sighed. Too much had happened since Vritra killed Eiko. The entire clan was just waiting to fall apart because Gluarung had created too many trust issues for the clan to handle.

Where was Gluarung, anyways? Ewein focused on every detail he could recall of his uncle, but instead of struggling to picture him, Ewein found he could immediately access Gluarung's location through the vaguest memory. Ewein's search brought him all the way to The Ashfall Waste. Gluarung was apparently in the middle of a training session. There were rows upon rows of dragons of all flights, ages, and breeds listening intently to whatever it was Gluarung was saying. As Ewein's brain started processing what he was seeing, every dragon got into groups of two, and brutally slaughtered each other. Ewein watched, horrified, as the last two dragons finished their match and a hatchling skydancer fell. The victors turned to Gluarung, who had a look of fierce satisfaction on his face. Again, the dragons got into groups of two and continued to kill each other until there were only a hundred or so left. The battles were quick, savage, and merciless. It didn't take a genius to realize that Gluarung was building an army of the most brutal and competent dragons he could find. What wasn't clear was why he was building this army. Gluarung was a shadow dragon loyalist, but was it possible he was building this army to seek revenge on the shadow flight, or his ex clan alone?

A sharp jostle snapped Ewein all the way out of the blood stained volcanic rock, overseas, and back into the peaceful clearing of Wispwillow Grove. He instinctively lashed out, earning an indignant squeak from Agave. Ewein blinked a couple of times, making sure he was back in his welcoming home of The Tangled Wood, before turning to apologize to his clan mate.

“Sorry, Agave. I was distracted,” Ewein said, shuffling his feet nervously as he thought of the satisfied glint of tyranny on Gluarung's face.

“Its okay,” Agave said, licking her injured arm. “I was checking to make sure you're okay. My mother says its dangerous to let your mind absorb so much magic at once.”

“Right,” Ewein said distantly. “I'm sorry about earlier.”

“No, its fine,” Agave insisted. After a pause, she asked, “Do you know how much time passed since we last talked?”

“Um, no? It was about ten minutes, right?”

“Actually, its been about an hour.”

“What?”

“Yeah, time goes by fast when your brain is in a different part of the world.”

“Has anyone else found their way back?”

“I don't know. I think Folant found his way, though.”

“I already knew that.”

“Sorry.”

“No, I'm-” Ewein shook his head. “Is this what all of our conversations are going to be like? Apologizing back and forth?”

“I'm not the one with foresight, that's my father.”

They stood in silence for a few awkward moments before Ewein decided he should try a slightly different use of his magic. He remembered how, when Agave jostled him away from Gluarung, it had seemed like he was traveling instead of simply viewing through a mental screen. He wondered if he could visualize a location, along with the distance that separated him from it.

Agave could obviously sense when he began using his magic, and she seemed concerned for his health, but she made no moves to interrupt his concentration. A vivid image of Driftwood Drag appeared in his head. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulled himself out of the vision. The entire forest rushed past him in an instant, and he felt as if a solid force rammed into him when his mind returned to his body. He sprung his eyes open with a gasp and gripped the ground beneath him tightly. That time had felt different than all the others; he had felt like he could float away at any second and never return to his body again. Agave put a steady hand on Ewein's back, but he quickly dismissed her questions of concern and stood up straight.

“Follow me,” Ewein said, confidant of where he was going.

“So, I can follow you now?” Agave said hesitantly.

“I don't care anymore,” Ewein answered, walking ahead.

Ewein trekked through the wood, Agave following somewhat slowly. They passed through bushes, climbed under rotting logs, and pushed passed clutters of mushrooms and fungi. Their paces gradually picked up as they began to recognize certain landmarks that revealed them to be close to home. All the while Ewein was subdued. He found himself thinking about his face randomly, despite all the other things going on. Somehow, Agave seemed to sense his thoughts and interrupted them.

“You did great to bring us this far,” Agave complimented. “Should we go in at different times so it seems like we came separately?”

“Why go through all the trouble?” Ewein queried. “Grzegorz has been watching us half this time anyways.”

“He has?” Agave seemed startled.

Ewein nodded, gesturing upwards. Grzegorz wasn't physically visible through the thick trees and the black night, but every once in a while, through extreme concentration and a sharp eye, there would be a glint of pink visible in the otherwise black sky, revealing Grzegorz's camouflage methods. Agave pulled her gaze away from the sky and caught up to Ewein, who hadn't stopped walking. Ewein began thinking again, this time of Agave. He didn't hold a grudge against her, but at the same time he felt uneasy whenever she was around. Perhaps it was just the fresh memory of the accident that made him feel so uncomfortable. Ewein knew Agave was trying to make up for her mistake somehow, but Ewein thought it better that he set her at ease. She already had to live outside the dragon lair, and rarely even got to see her parents. All because he had been in the way.

Ewein's thoughts were interrupted again when he noticed something shiny out of the corner of his eye. Leaving the beaten path he was following, Ewein bounded over to the object and examined it. The object was caked in muck, which Ewein wiped of with his hand. It was an aqua blue orb of some kind. The stone was very smooth, encased in a silver frame dotted with lesser orbs of the same kind. The silver frame was attached to a chain, making it apparent that it was meant to be worn as a necklace. Two raven feathers were connected at the bottom of the orb, giving it a mysterious air.

Agave had stopped and was waiting for Ewein to return to the path, not bothering to question what he was doing. Picking up the orb and wiping it off to the best of his ability, Ewein walked over to Agave with the intention of giving it to her. She perked as he approached.

“What'd you see?” Agave asked curiously when he rejoined her.

“This,” Ewein said, flashing the stone.

Agave's eyes widened. “That's a Seeker's Orb!” She exclaimed. “They're supposed to give insight to dragon's dreams! I could- oh, but its yours. Right.”

“I was going to give it to you, actually,” Ewein said. He couldn't help but smile at the surprised look on her face.

“Really?” Agave asked uncertainly. “Thanks!”

She reached for it, but just before she could take it, Ewein pulled it out of reach. “You have to catch me first!” He challenged playfully, running down the path and jumping over a giant mushroom. Agave seemed confused at first, but her playfulness took over immediately, and she gave chase. They ran around and dodged each other for a few minutes, before Agave tricked Ewein into backing into a sharp, low branch. When he jumped forward, Agave charged and collided with him, making them both fall to the ground, grinning.

“Okay,” Ewein surrendered. “You can have it for real now.”

“I didn't know you could be so fun!” Agave said enthusiastically. “I spent so much time being jealous of your magic, I didn't realize that...you're like me.”

She trailed off as she took the Seeker Orb from Agave. Getting up, Ewein skipped further down the path they had been following. “C'mon,” He called. “Let's top this adventure off with...third and fourth place.”

Smiling, Agave followed. And the two hatchlings walked happily down the rest of the path towards their home, tensions forgotten.


	16. Chapter 16

The Dragon Lair was in chaos. Everyone was spitting in rage over something, a blood thirsty glint reflecting in the eye of every dragon, including Ewein's sweet mother. Ewein and Agave exited the nesting grounds timidly, oblivious as to what was going on. Ewein could hear bits and pieces of what the other dragons were talking about; it seemed to involve familiars. Ewein knew what familiars were thanks to Anarawd. A couple days ago, Anarawd came back from his first solo hunting trip late and admitted to his brothers that he visited another shadow clan. On the way back, he was attacked by familiars. Not the mindless kind that Grzegorz sent the hatchlings out to fight, but intelligent, vengeance seeking familiars. Ewein hadn't thought much of it at the time, after all, what tiny familiar could match the strength of his great uncle Nidhug?

The clan thought otherwise. Chumana and Nidhug were talking at the entrance of their den, every once in awhile glancing at the angry dragons below. Ewein was surprised to find that even Chumana seemed to have an enraged look in her eye. Ewein and Agave were pushed and bumped by the larger dragons that hardly seemed able to contain themselves, earning indignant squeaks from the two hatchlings. Ewein spotted Kinga in the crowd, she was sitting directly underneath the ledge to Nidhug and Chumana's den, listening. Just like a pearlcatcher dragon, Ewein thought. He shoved his way towards her, knowing she must have an idea of what exactly was happening.

“Kinga!” Ewein called.

“What?” Kinga replied, annoyed at having her eavesdropping interrupted.

“What's ever-” but he was interrupted as well when Nidhug and Chumana flew down into the center of the lair.

Kinga shrugged and slipped between dragon legs to get in good earshot of Nidhug. Ewein was about to do the same when Agave stopped him. Ewein jumped; he forgot she was there.

“Let's get on this rock,” Agave suggested, gesturing to a large rock a few feet behind her. A giant leap was all it took to get her to the top. Ewein reflected on how large she was now, though she was still a hatchling, Agave was nearly twice his size. Fae didn't grow as fast nor half as large as most dragons, and it made Ewein slightly sour as he scaled the rock slowly. As it turned out, standing at a higher vantage still wasn't enough to see over the throng of older dragons. Not even for Agave.

Nidhug didn't start speaking immediately, as most of the dragons were still riled. They were stomping and growling, blowing smoke out their nostrils and batting their wings in rage. Ewein had never seen such behavior in shadow dragons, not even in Astarot, who was known to get worked up as an earth dragon. Slowly, the dragons calmed down enough to hear Nidhug speak.

“For those of you who haven't heard,” Nidhug began steadily, though he looked as angry as the rest. “There is a new clan.”

Ewein and Agave looked at each other in confusion. A new clan? Why would something like that work up so many dragons? Especially since most of the dragons there were shadow dragons, known for concealing true emotions and staying secretive.

“The name of the clan,” Nidhug continued. “Is beastclan. They're a group of inferior, simple-minded beasts that spied on the mighty dragon flights, put their filthy paws together in a pathetic alliance, and tried to claim a place in the fight for dominance!”

An earth-trembling roar followed. Agave shrunk down. Ewein wondered how this changed the fight for dominance. Would he have to run onto the battlefield, flames brewing, to knock down giant rats that even he could outgrow? Suddenly, as fast as a hare, Pandora stepped in the center of the dragons and stood next to Nidhug. The dragons quickly piped down and murmured in curiosity as to why Pandora had the right to stand there.

“Clanmates,” Pandora said quietly. “Forgive me, Nidhug, but you have the story wrong.”

Nidhug snorted in contempt. “I know the story of the ancients. Dragonkind destroyed beastclan land when they fought other flights for dominance long ago, as they still do now. We snuffed out those clans long ago, and putting the remnants of six lowly clans together in attempt to drive out eleven flights of dragons is both pathetic and insulting.”

The other dragons agreed- less violently, which seemed to put Agave at ease.

“It is not like you to underestimate an opponent, Nidhug,” Pandora said. “You always said rushing into things without taking a moment to observe would lead to failure.”

Nidhug didn't respond. Then Chumana joined him at the center, observing the dragons. After a moment of awkward silence, she said, “The shadow flight still holds dominance, but water and light are close behind. The uniting of the beastclans hasn't affected our plans for the raid. At sundown, the chosen dragons leave to raid The Sunbeam Runes for much needed food stock.”

Ewein focused on Pandora who stared silently at Chumana, but Chumana didn't seem to notice. A shiver went down his spine. Did Pandora's gaze always seem so ominous and strange? She turned her stare to Ewein. No one seemed to notice them, as if Pandora had sealed them in a dimension of her own. He began to tingle, his head getting slightly fuzzy. Was Pandora trying to tell him something? He shook his head, trying to clear the feeling, it wasn't going away. Splotches of green and blue crept into the corners of his vision. He stiffened, curious. The fuzziness turned to a sense of calmness, like his mind was being cleared of something. Just as he was beginning to relax, a flash of crimson spilled across his view, along with it a sharp pain in his chest, like being stabbed. When the colors faded, he realized Pandora was staring at Ludwik, who also didn't notice. What did that mean?

“As a reminder,” Chumana continued, snapping Ewein out of his trance. “Nidhug and I will be leading the raid, the following members will assist us: Lapis, Pandora, Franciszka, Grzegorz, and Ludwik.”

Ewein looked back at his uncle, who was still listening to the meeting. What was that flash of red? Ewein thought briefly before realizing that the dragons were breaking up. As they did, Ewein abruptly got an overwhelming urge to mention what he saw at The Ashfall Waste. What better way to bring it to attention? He jumped to his feet to tell everyone to wait, but he was yanked off the rock by his tail. He instinctively wanted to squeak, but caught himself and growled instead. He rounded on whoever had pulled his tail. It was Pandora. Ewein glanced at the center of the dragon lair, wondering how Pandora had moved so fast, before turning back and snarling at her.

“What was that for?” Ewein demanded.

“That would have been unwise,” Pandora said.

“What?”

“The clan is not ready. Let them realize things on their own.”

Ewein wasn't sure what she meant. Pandora turned to leave. He pounced on her tail in an attempt to stop her.

“Wait!” He said. “You know about Gluarung, don't you?”

“Yes,” She replied simply, then attempted to leave again.

“Stop,” Ewein insisted. “Why shouldn't I tell anyone?”

“You're a smart hatchling. Find out.”

He let her go this time, staring after her with questions buzzing in his head, but somehow content with leaving them unanswered. He figured Pandora would know things; she could, after all, predict the future.

***

Ewein watched the raid party leave with sad, deformed eyes. He had thought about what Pandora said. The clan was too weak and tense from the lack of food and betrayal of Gluarung to deal with the news of his possible return. It was too much for a dragon like Nidhug to handle. Even though he was technically a grown dragon, Nidhug was only several years old, and hadn't even reached the age where he would embark on The Search. Ewein sighed heavily.

A brush of feathers on his scales made him flinch. Agave sat down besides him and looked at him curiously.

“What's wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Ewein dismissed.

“Oh. You want to go train?”

He shook his head. “I feel tired today.”

“Yeah, I think I know what you mean,” Agave nodded. “Its all the stress, right?”

“I guess. I'm just going to think in the nesting grounds.”

“I'll come.”

Ewein was surprised she would want to follow him, but he didn't object. Instead, he shrugged and made his way to the hidden entrance.

For the next couple of hours, Ewein and Agave laid down in the nesting grounds across from each other, leaving themselves to their thoughts. Agave tapped the stone floor gently with her claws, studying the old claw marks of raiding dragons that had tried to kill hatchlings before her time. It made Ewein think about all the talk of war, yet the absence of fighting. Was his clan just really good at hiding him from the dangers of the flights, or was the fighting exaggerated? If it was the former, then why were his mother and grandparents allowed to leave the den when they were only three days old, while he and his younger clanmates had to stay inside and train with a trainer? It was probably the newly found mistrust between shadow dragons, Ewein mused.

Kinga and Blue entered the nesting grounds with grins on their faces.

“Hey,” Kinga said. “Do you know how old we are?”

“What kind of question is that?” Agave asked.

“We're a week old,” Blue answered for them.

“That means we're technically matured,” Kinga added. “Now we're old enough to do...things- that older dragons do.”

“Like what?” Ewein inquired.

“Well,” Kinga was hesitant to say what had come to her mind.

“We can leave the den on our own,” Blue put in.

Ewein and Agave didn't seem very impressed. Even if they knew where Blue and Kinga were coming from, they wouldn't have cared much for what they were saying. Their trusted parents said they were too young to go off alone, and that was enough for Ewein and Agave. But not for Blue and Kinga, as their real parents weren't even there.

“We all know what the older dragons have been saying,” Kinga said. “That its dangerous to go out because we can't trust anyone anymore. But since when are shadow dragons honest? Deceit and fickleness runs in our blood, it shouldn't stop us.”

“It runs in our blood,” Agave reminded her coolly. “You're an ice dragon.”

“And even I'm not afraid to go outside,” Kinga retorted.

Ewein thought about it- then realized how tired he was of thinking. Practicing magic day in and day out was mentally exhausting, and here he was left to wonder and worry about his clan as they went to fight. He was old enough to fight, so why hadn't he even explored his home turf yet?

“I'm not afraid to go outside,” Agave snorted. “I'm not allowed to live in the dragon lair, remember? This is one of the only days I get inside and I'm going to enjoy them, thank you very much.”

Blue and Kinga simultaneously rolled their eyes.

“Look, if you change your mind, meet us at Foxfire Bramble,” Blue said. “Anarawd and Folant are already there.”

“Really?” Ewein asked in disbelief. He didn't expect his brothers to get involved with this duo's shenanigans. He supposed he could check with magic, but he wanted to close his mind's eye and look with his real ones for awhile.

“Yup,” Kinga said, recognizing that she had Ewein's interest.

Without trying to sway them any further, Kinga and Blue exited the nesting grounds. Ewein almost instantly got up to follow, surprising Agave.

“You're really going?” Agave asked. “What's so special about Foxfire Bramble, anyway?”

“I've only been there once,” Ewein offered. “And during training.”

He trotted over to the exit, hoping he would be able to remember how to get there, and devised a strategy to slip by unnoticed. When he peeked outside the grounds, he was relieved to see that only Grzegorz was in the nesting grounds. He seemed to be meditating, but that didn't sound like something Grzegorz would do, so Ewein shrugged and looked around. Kinga and Blue were no where in sight; they must've escaped already. If Blue can sneak his long body past Grzegorz, Ewein thought, then he could slip his small one through.

Placing a hand outside the grounds in preparation to dash, Ewein took a deep breath, and took off. His wings pattered silently as they lifted him off the ground slightly, just enough to keep his footsteps from sounding heavy. Before he knew it, he was outside. Fighting down temptation to celebrate his small victory, Ewein slid down the muddy slope and rushed into the woods.

***

The woods were darker than Ewein remembered. Was it because of the dark times ahead of the Shadowbinder and her children? His thoughts were cut short when he saw Kinga, Blue, Folant, and Anarawd.

“Hey!” Kinga called as soon as she saw him. “You made it! Wait, Agave didn't come?”

Kinga seemed disappointed, which surprised Ewein as he was used to seeing Kinga mischievous and carefree, not much else. Perhaps it was the freedom of the woods that brought out her sad side, or maybe he was over thinking.

“She didn't want to get in trouble, I guess,” Ewein shrugged.

“What a shame,” Blue said. “We're going to The Viridian Labyrinth.”

“Wait, what?”

Folant stepped up. “Yeah! Sneaking off somewhere close by is meaningless, we need to go out and see the world for ourselves.”

“I never would have believed it if I hadn't heard it straight from your mouth,” Ewein mumbled.

“What was that?” Folant asked, tilting his head.

“Nothing,” Ewein said. “So how do we get there?”

Kinga unrolled a map. She pointed at what must've been The Tangled Wood, judging by the illustration of dark, purple, black, and blue trees.

“We're here,” She stated. “The Viridian Labyrinth is pretty close by; we just have to cross this little bit of ocean, and we're there.”

“Little bit of ocean?” Folant asked. “The furthest we've ever flown is to this spot.”

“Not me,” Anarawd said. “I've been to The Scarred Wasteland.”

“Mm hm,” Blue said skeptically. “And how far did you get?”

“Well, not much further than we are now- but still.”

Kinga scoffed, then pointed to an illustration of a giant tree in the midst of a lush forest.

“We're going to make a little game out of this,” she said. “We'll all travel across the ocean together, but when we get there, its a dash to the giant tree. Whoever can get to the tree and climb all the way to the top without flying, wins.”

“Wins what?” Folant asked.

“Uhh,” She mulled it over a bit. “How about 20 gold?”

“Deal,” Everyone agreed in unison.


	17. Chapter 17

This was a very bad idea. Ewein reflected as he stared down at the teetering ground miles below. His large claws were firmly placed on either side of the thick trunk he was clinging onto, his tiny body pressed as close to the bark as possible and his tail wrapped on another protruding branch. Underneath him, Folant was scrabbling his way up, calling reassuring words to his brother every now and then. Ewein couldn't see Kinga, Anarawd, or Blue anywhere; he assumed they had all died.

They crossed the ocean easily enough, to their delight, and when they reached land they had no troubling encounters with any dragons. It wasn't until they began their race up the giant tree that they ran into trouble. All Ewein remembers is a huge shadow, violently shaking branches, and a flash of Kinga's scales before his face hit a branch. The next thing he was aware of was holding onto this very branch, and he hadn't moved since. It was a relief when he heard Folant calling him, otherwise Ewein might have fearfully clung here for days.

Folant finally reached Ewein's branch. He sidled next to him and put a hand on his claws, as if letting him know it was okay to let go. Ewein didn't move.

“Hey, are you okay?” Folant asked in concern.

Ewein still couldn't speak.

“Come on, Blue is waiting for us.”

Ewein turned to look at Folant, his white eyes stretched wide in a quizzical manner. But Folant offered no hint as to whether or not the others were there as well, instead, he gestured for Ewein to get down. With enough cooing, he did. It felt nice to stretch his limbs again, though he had no idea how long he was really up there. He had a few questions on his mind, but he felt too numb to speak a word. He was too afraid of the first response he would get. Folant was quiet himself. He glanced occasionally to confirm that Ewein was still following or if he felt Ewein was about to fall, but not much more.

When their feet touched the ground, they suddenly revived. Blue was waiting, as Folant had said, and once the spiral dragon saw them, he rushed to their sides.

“Did you see Kinga?” Blue demanded, not out of harshness, but out of worry.

“No,” Ewein shook his head. It was the first word he had said since things had gotten out of hand, and he couldn't help but feel that was significant in some way. He looked at his brother.

“Do you remember what happened?” Folant asked Ewein.

“There was a shadow, the tree shook, and we all fell,” Ewein recounted.

Blue and Folant glanced at each other. Clearly they had time to talk before one of them spotted Ewein. Yet they said no more. Blue and Folant started walking towards some predetermined destination, so Ewein hastily followed, his questions slowly bubbling up inside him. But if they knew anything, they probably would have shared it by now, is what Ewein thought as he followed them blindly.

They stopped at the Everbloom Gardens. The lush, tropical growth of Everbloom Gardens entices the senses: beautiful tri-colored hummingbirds flit between blossoms, weaving a nectar-rich symphony in the brilliant flowers that blanket the forest floor and perfume the humid breeze. Succulent, low-hanging fruits grow ripe in trees on rivulets fed from deep pools of crystal-clear water. Ewein wished he could be at peace here, but the pit in his stomach told him trouble was brewing. Blue sat down, but Folant stood on a slightly leveled hill so he stood above both Ewein and Blue.

“Alright,” Folant began. “We all know what happened, whether we like it or not. They took them, and pretending otherwise won't help.”

“Who took who?” Ewein asked. He had a feeling he knew.

“Gluarung,” Folant confirmed Ewein's dreaded suspicions. “Gluarung led an attack here. His forces blocked out the sun, once the local clans caught sight, they surrendered. They stole hatchlings and eggs from their nests and slaughtered elders and leaders. When they were turning back, someone saw us, and I'm sure you remember the rest just fine.”

Ewein was shaking. They took them. They took Anarawd and Kinga to the horrible place he'd seen in his visions. How long could they possibly survive?

“Yeah, we talked to the clans,” Folant told Ewein. “They kept telling me that she was gone, but when I saw you, I was hoping...”

Suddenly another horrible thought passed through Ewein's head. Without thinking, he tapped into his magic and pictured the Sunbeam Ruins. It was peaceful. There were clear signs of struggles, but no more than every other territory, or how The Viridian Labyrinth looked now. He returned to his body, unable to settle the queasiness he was feeling.

“Ewein?” Folant was tilting his head in confusion.

He couldn't force the thought down, even if saying it made it come true, he couldn't hold himself back.

“Do you think our uncle was there when Gluarung passed by the Sunbeam Ruins?” Ewein asked in a small voice.

Folant's eyes widened. Wordlessly, all three hatchlings made their way southwest.

It was unfortunate timing. When Ewein saw the visions three days ago, Gluarung had been tallying his army. Ewein jumped off ledge after ledge, descending towards the shore. two days ago, the beastclans had risen, and Gluarung was invading The Shifting Expanse. Ewein leaped over creeks and ignored the feeling of his hands sinking into the soft soil below the grass, just like he ignored the sinking feeling in his heart. Yesterday, his clanmates ventured off to the Sunbeam Ruins, and Gluarung had just arrived. Ewein pictured his brother, but he was in an environment Ewein couldn't recognize, laying down alone and unmoving. Earlier today, Gluarung had attacked The Viridian Labyrinth, now his brother was gone.

***

Ewein sat despondently in the corner of the dragon lair. All around him, his clanmates were discussing what they could do to swoop their clanmates from Gluarung's clutches. While Gluarung was raiding the east coast, Vritra was raiding the west coast. Meanwhile, Apep was raiding The Southern Icefield, taking all three days to defeat the massive stretch of territory. It hadn't been a full on assault, and surprisingly only two or three clans from each flight even attempted fighting back. The only lands untouched were The Scarred Wastelands, The Tangled Wood, and the Sea of a Thousand Currents.

It seemed as if Gluarung and his forces had made enemies of just about every flight, and that the fight should be easy to take to him, but who exactly were they fighting? Were they fighting the fire flight, or was the fire flight taken hostage by Gluarung's rag-tag group of dragons just like everyone had their hatchlings taken? And when it all comes down to it, Glaurung had their clanmates, and he could kill them. These thoughts were undoubtedly running through the minds of every flight that had their clanmates taken as well.

Ewein took another moment to examine their three new clanmates. One was an elder snapper dragon who escaped from Dragonhome before the slaughtering with the help of a young hatchling named Quetzalchoatl. Quetzalchoatl was a coatl dragon, and the elder's name was Jormunganr. The third was a guardian hatchling also brought in by Quetzalchoatl. Though not related, Quetzalchoatl sees her as a sister, or so that's how she explained it. The hatchling's name was Coaxoch, if Ewein remembered correctly. Their acceptance into the clan was rushed, but necessary with the recent loss of clanmates.

Jormunganr was speaking to Sylwia, who had taken a position somewhat resembling leadership until Chumana and Nidhug were returned safely. The elder had a gruff voice, and spoke sharply. His moss green scales quivered whenever he snapped impatiently, which was often. His cobalt halfmoon spectacles balanced on the bridge of his short snout as he squinted at the faces of the dragons surrounding him. His weak, light blue wings were stretched across his rough back formally at all times.

“Outrageous!” Jormunganr exclaimed. “You expect to lead the shadow flight into battle against the fire flight? You can't even control your own sons. Who do you think will follow you, child?”

“Watch the way you speak to her,” Astarot growled. “Otherwise you can look for a new home.”

“Oh?” Jormunganr snorted. “What do we have here? Astarot, if I'm not mistaken? Don't bother telling me I am, because I can already see that its you, child.”

Astarot scowled. “You should have stayed at Dragonhome. Your time is long overdue, anyway.”

“I bet you wish you had that option, don't you, child?”

“Enough.” Quetzalchoatl said firmly. “Forgive him. Petty complications aside, the truth of the matter is that no dragon would follow a pitifully small force such as this. Especially under a young leader against a brutal army.”

“Yes, back to important matters. Because this is not a matter of pride!” Jormunganr snapped, and his scales quivered. “As she stands, this hatchling cannot prevail against Gluarung.”

Sylwia was offended, but she put her emotions aside quickly. She straightened her wings and looked at the elder's small eyes, trying to appear as mature as possible, though she technically was a child still.  
“I know that we're few in numbers, but the Shadowbinder will give us the courage to fight for our loved ones,” She said confidently.

“Fool!” The elder scolded. “You're going somewhere beyond the Shadowbinder's reach, not even she can save you in that hell hole. Seven hatchlings won't be enough to take down this beast! I don't know why you bothered bringing us here, Quetzalchoatl, these dragons are clueless.”

This was getting nowhere fast, Ewein knew. He glanced around at the dragons who were completely invested in the discussion taking place in front of them. Ewein frowned, causing all his jagged teeth to scrape together. To him, it was clear that they needed help, but no one bothered mentioning it because they didn't know where to find any.

Suddenly, Agave was shaking him lightly.

“What is it?”Ewein whispered, though he was sure no one was listening anyway.

“Why were you staring at me?” She asked.

“Huh?”

“You kept staring at me.”

Had he? He opened his mouth to respond, but as he did, he got an idea.

“Agave,” He started excitedly. “Meet me at the Forum of the Obscured Crescent.”

She looked taken aback by his request, but he didn't ask why. Ewein assumed she was curious about what he was going on about, and left it at that. He scampered away and didn't check to see if she had decided to follow. Ewein was so caught up with the new thoughts buzzing through his head that he wasn't careful about how he ran. As he darted between the legs of the older dragons, he heard a voice call, silencing the rest.

“Ewein, where do you think you're going?”

He froze. Ewein could feel all the eyes of the dragon lair on him now, burning holes in his back and the top of his scaly head. He turned around and saw his mother's hard stare peering at him from the leader's ledge. He scanned the small crowd of eight dragons around him, and saw Agave shaking her head. He gulped.

“I was going to the Forum of the Obscured Crescent,” He said slowly, watching her expression.

“Why?” She interrogated.

He couldn't understand the hostility in the air. “I'm planning a trip to Starfall Isles,” He said honestly.

The other dragons murmured the way shadow dragons murmur behind the back of their prey. Always mocking before the strike. The first thought running through their minds was that Ewein wanted to escape from the small, slowly dissembling clan. But his mother was surprisingly kind in response to his confession.

“And what,” She giggled. “Would you do there?”

“I'm getting help.”

His clanmates showed signs of offense and disbelief. He looked around again, and spotted an unsettling sight; Quetzalchoatl was eying him with her intense, purple eyes. He couldn't make out what emotion she had displayed, but he felt defenseless against the steel gaze. Then, she spoke.

“So you think,” She said slowly. “In the midst of their distress, you'll leave your clanmates at the mercy of a tyrant? Do you truly believe you can get the arcane flight to assist us?”

She watched him intently. Ewein began to feel subconscious as he remembered his disfigured face. He didn't like the way she studied him, the way her eyes stay unblinking as she waited for a response, the way she acted like she knew all his flaws.

“All I know is that we, as one clan, can't defeat Gluarung,” Ewein said. “Not even as one flight. We need to band together, put our differences aside, and reach a common goal. The arcane flight lost more than we did when it fell under Vritra's attack. Don't you think they want revenge as much as we do?”

“But why the arcane flight?” Quetzalchoatl insisted.

“They've been studying the bonds of the universe for generations. I think they'd like to make one of their own. A pact between flights is unheard of, but if anyone is willing to do it, its the arcane flight,” Ewein became increasingly confident as he continued talking.

The other dragons let that sink in. Ewein thought he saw a glimmer of respect in Quetzalchoatl's eyes. Agave was looking at him, head tilted in confusion, as if she was trying to figure him out. His wings tingled, itching to stretch out and soar to the Starfall Isles. Briefly he considered the consequences of his plan if it worked. Instead of inspiring other flights to join forces like he hoped it would, there was a possibility the other flights would become extremely suspicious. Some, such as the plague flight, might feel threatened and attack. If that happened, Ewein would just have to hope that the fights would bring the two flights closer together.

Another reason Ewein wanted to go to Starfall Isles was for the magic. The safety of his clanmates was his first priority, but if possible, he didn't see why it was wrong to ask one of the dragons to help him fix his face. He felt the rough scales along his cheek with his claws. They made an unpleasant sound to his burned ear holes, like scraping stone. Suddenly, the extra display of fins grew heavy on his head, and his neck strained. He blinked, and allowed himself a reminder that his eyelids weren't always white, that he used to be able to close his eyes at night and walk with the Shadowbinder in his dreams, behind the dark and protective layers of his lids.

Then Quetzalchoatl was in front of him.

“Did you hear a word I said?” She asked.

“No,” Ewein admitted, looking up at her.

“I said, 'lead the way'.”

***

A whole week had passed by the time Ewein convinced the entire shadow flight to attempt a truce with the arcane flight. Gluarung's forces continued to devastate all the flights, save for water, shadow, and plague. The threat of an attack from Gluarung was enough to convince most to put their efforts into a truce, and the rest to avoid trouble. Though he knew he made considerable progress in just a week, Ewein felt like his efforts were nothing in comparison to the rate at which Glaurung stole and raised dragons for his army.

Ewein checked on his clanmates often. Usually frequent use of magic wore on his mind, but as of late, it was becoming easier and easier. By checking on them often, Ewein knew that his clanmates were almost always separated. It was surprising how thorough Gluarung could be while keeping an eye on an army of near 70,000 dragons, but Ewein had a feeling that Gluarung was keeping a special eye on his former shadow clanmates. Nidhug was smart about the way he moved among Gluarung's loyalists, and did what they said. Chumana was always sulking. Lapis was rebellious at first, but gradually, he lost his will. Pandora had not changed in any way, shape, or form; she was strangely calm and collected at all times. Franciszka looked as though he might go insane, and Ewein could only assume it was because he was seeing so many possible outcomes of different futures, that by now he was overwhelmed. Grzegorz was indifferent; he didn't mind the killing, and the only time he seemed bothered was when dragons from other flights approached him. Ludwik was frantic and spent all the time he could afford trying to reach his clanmates. Kinga received special treatment, she was always at the side of her adoptive father, Apep. As for Anarawd...Ewein hadn't seen him since his training began.

Anarawd was put in a death match as soon as Gluarung realized who he had a hold of. Anarawd won against the grown skydancer dragon, but he hadn't been the same afterward. It was like he enjoyed spilling blood; sometimes he killed dragons within Gluarung's ranks for fun. Gluarung slowly grew fond of Anarawd, and brought him along to raids, where Anarawd took care of slaughtering those who try to escape or resist. Ewein still couldn't hear the places he observed through his visions, but he got sick at the thought of all the praise Anarawd was obviously receiving.

No one knew what Glaurung was up to, it had only become more confusing. Why was Gluarung, an extreme shadow flight loyalist, leading ranks withing the fire flight in the first place? It was absurd to think that this was a part of some plan for vengeance on his ex clan alone.

Ewein sighed. Agave nuzzled him gently.

“You're doing great,” She assured him. “Our clan needed new dragons, Nidhug won't be angry.”

Agave had gotten clingy lately, and Ewein didn't like nor understand it. He pulled away.

“Its not about that,” Ewein said. “Why is Gluarung doing this?”

“That's something that only Gluarung and his two minions know. But if you can pull off this truce, and arcane fights alongside shadow, you might have a chance to meet Gluarung face to face. Ask him whatever you want.”

“I don't deserve to meet him face to face during combat.”

“Who does, then?”

“Astarot.”

There was a silence.

“Why her?” Agave finally asked.

“Gluarung killed my grandfather, Attor,” Ewein explained. “She loved him first, y'know? Not only first, but until his last. Attor was the only clanmate Gluarung killed so, I think that – out of our clan – Astarot deserves to face Gluarung the most.”

“I think that everyone deserves to kill Gluarung at least once,” Agave said bitterly.

Ewein didn't have time to respond, because just then, Bylinda landed on the cliff they were talking on. Ewein suddenly remembered where he was and shot to his feet. They shouldn't have stayed out by the Sea of a Thousand Currents so long. Bylinda was here to retrieve them. She ushered Agave up and off the side of the cliff, with Ewein following behind. Ewein and Agave spread their wings in unison, Bylinda hadn't waited as long as them. They soared quickly over the peaceful waves below, Ewein and Agave just above the surface to where their bellies almost touched the water.

“Quetzalchoatl is going to be mad, isn't she?” Ewein asked Bylinda over the waves.

“Maybe,” Bylinda answered. “She's not the leader, however. Why does it matter to you, youngling?”

“I know she's not leader, but she can be intimidating.”

Ewein caught Agave rolling her eyes.

Just above their heads, there was a flap of black wings. Ewein looked up and saw a deathseeker. Thrilled by the rarity, his first instinct was to chase it. He beat his wings and soared upwards, earning questioning sounds from Agave and Bylinda. The deathseeker saw him and flew in the opposite direction. In that moment, Ewein decided he was going to kill the familiar.

Ewein roared, and was satisfied to hear that he no longer squeaked. The deathseeker caught an air current and moved faster. Ewein found the same one and kept pace with the black bird. The deathseeker furiously beat its wings, turned beak over tail, and flew towards Ewein. His challenge was accepted. When the deathseeker closed the distance, it shrieked at him and started a frontal assault. Ewein zipped around, avoiding as many attacks as possible, then counter attacked. His claws made a mark on the bird's leg, ripping it off. This didn't faze the familiar, instead, it enraged it. The bird tucked in its wings and flew sharply downwards. Ewein followed cautiously, sensing a trap. The deathseeker plunged straight into the water, creating a small splash that sent tiny ripples across the gentle waves.

Ewein pulled up, flying in a circle above the surface of the water, wondering what the familiar had hoped to accomplish. Maybe it was a part of a beastclan and preferred to drown over being killed by a dragon. But then Ewein felt a tearing pain on the back of his neck. He immediately stiffened, and the lack of movement sent him that few extra feet into the water below.

All around him, clouds of his own blood obscured his vision, it swirled in the underwater currents. The tearing pain on his neck had subsided, replaced with a burning pain as salt water filled the wound. Ewein put his hand to the back of his neck to get a feel for what kind of injury he had, and felt a deep hole, undoubtedly a result of the deathseeker's beak. He swam for the surface.

And came face to face with the waiting deathseeker. It shrieked again and flew downwards before he could get half of his neck out the water. It went for his face, his already horridly disfigured face. It was all he could do to keep himself from sinking as the bird attacked. He thought he heard Agave calling him, but before he could call back, the deathseeker hooked a talon in Ewein's left eye. He screeched in pain as the deathseeker flapped its wings, trying to take off with his eye. Without thinking, Ewein inhaled, and unleashed a stream of fire onto the black bird. Its grip slipped as it shrieked in agony. Its feathers incinerated first, then its whole body followed, disappearing into dust in moments. A shiny green stone fell from where the deathseeker's chest used to be, and as it fell Ewein snatched it into his crooked jaw.

You're a dragon, Ewein reminded himself harshly. You could've avoided all of that if you'd just used fire.

His left eye was swollen painfully shut, but he was happy nonetheless. He heard the distant flapping of wings approaching, signifying Agave and Bylinda's arrival. Bylinda stared in horror at his injured eye, Agave stared with some form of admiration.

“You wanna try going home without harassing the birds?” Agave laughed.

“Never!” Ewein joked.

Bylinda let him climb onto her back, and together, all three dragons made it soundly to The Tangled Wood. Ewein observed his prize as they trotted through Foxfire Bramble. He was holding a Seeker Broach. It was a fairly large, green eye-like orb. It looked a lot like a Seeker Orb, but Seeker Orbs come from stormseekers, which are usually found around The Shifting Expanse. The Seeker Orb Ewein gave to Agave – the one she wore on her neck at all times – was a fortunate find upon reflection.

As they emerged from Foxfire Bramble, the Forum of the Obscured Crescent came into view. Hundreds of shadow clan leaders were gathered there, murmuring with the voices of shadows. Occasionally, a cackle or a guffaw would resonate from the forum, then cowardly fade away back to whispers and smirks. Ewein smiled at the gathering, though his teeth made it awkward, as this was his week's work. Ewein glanced at Bylinda and Agave and realized they had been talking. He turned towards them, only to see Bylinda give him one worried glance, then walk away. Agave walked up to Ewein.

“Here we are,” She said. “I know its a week late, but, uh...about that thing?”

Ewein wasn't following. He was thinking about how Agave was slowly becoming more energetic around him, like she usually is around everyone else. She must be getting over the guilt of disfiguring my face, is what Ewein thought as Agave prattled on.

“Did any of that make any sense?” Agave asked.

“I wasn't listening,” Ewein admitted.

“What did you want to tell me?” Agave laughed. “A week ago, you wanted to meet here.”

“Oh- Oh!” He remembered now. “I was just going to ask you to come with me to Starfall Isles. Then my mother stopped me, and you saw what happened, there's not much need to meet here anymore.”

“Much?” Agave's eyes were searching.

“Yeah. I might need to meet here if the shadow flight wants to discuss truce terms, and I'd let you come with me, but that's the only reason I can think of.”

“Really?”

“Yes, that's – hey! Where are you going?”

Agave disappeared in Foxfire Bramble.

Ewein stood in the opening by himself for a while, confused, before shrugging and heading back for Driftwood Drag. As he passed by Forum of the Obscured Crescent, he caught a glimpse of his mother's grey and yellow hide amongst the hundreds of clan leaders. He kept walking, his gaze glued on her. She looked overwhelmed by the amount of respect and authority that she was being given. Ewein faintly remembered overhearing a conversation between Sylwia and Eiko before the outbreak that led to Eiko's death and his own deformity. He remembered the way they were both so sure that Ludwik would be given leadership years from now, after Eiko grew old. He remembered how sure everyone was that Nidhug would lead them after Longwei “left.” He remembered how Sylwia was sure that she'd never have to lead. And now he was reconsidering how sure he was that he wouldn't have to take after his mother.


	18. Chapter 18

“They're going to be fine. If you don' stop fiddling, I'll bite you,” Quetzalchoatl hissed at Ewein.

“I'm worried,” Ewein said. “There's only eight of them, if Gluarung wanted-”

“Shut up about Gluarung!” She snapped, then calmed down. “I promise you, your cl- our clan, will be fine without us. Its not just the eight of them, its the entire shadow flight now.”

Ewein was quiet as he flew side by side with Quetzalchoatl, Folant, and Bylinda. Below them, Wispwillow grove was a blur of black and purple. The woods were so dense that none of the large, glowing mushrooms that made the grove worth seeing could be distinguished from above. In the distance, The Wandering Contagion was slowly coming into view. It looked like a festering scar, the Filthy One's edges decided to take matters into its own hands and expand by itself. Tendrils and membranes, thick and resilient, still creep into every pockmark and outcropping of land they can find.   
It was surprising that the encroachment hadn't threatened other clans or flights yet.

This was the first time Ewein had seen The Scarred Wasteland, but he had heard the pearlcatchers talking about it often when they still resided within the clan. Never had he heard a positive word spoken about this land, and never had he heard of anyone in his clan traveling there save for Nidhug and Gluarung. Now he could see why. As they passed over The Wandering Contagion, they saw The Wyrmwound. It was a land tended to by the Plaguebringer herself, a thing of calamity and never-ending fumes of disease. Even native dragons who live by the Crater's Edge steer away from the pustule lake, cautious of making any contact in fear that the bile would wipe them out, or distort them into an atrocity . Ewein gagged as they flew high above it.

It felt like an eternity had passed when they finally made it out. Ewein started to feel better as they left the rotten land behind.

“No wonder Apep grew up to be rotten,” Folant commented after he felt like they were out of range of the toxic air. “Anyone who lived there would.”

Ewein was thinking the same thing, but he wouldn't say so out loud.

“For all the rot and decay, its managed to stay in a relatively small area,” Bylinda observed. “The plague flight has little territory.”

“That doesn't give you the right to trespass!” Roared a dragon swooping down from above.

All four dragons steered away as quickly as they could from the dragon's attack range. A gust of air from its wings almost knocked Ewein completely off course, telling him that this dragon was larger than he. It was a plague ridgeback dragon. Her hide was aqua blue and encrusted with crystals of the same color. Her wings were black as midnight and trailed grey, swirling smoke. Her scarlet eyes flared with anger as she roared challengingly at the four trespassers.

“We're just passing through,” Folant said defensively.

She didn't wait for any further explanation, she folded her wings, and attacked. Quetzalchoatl intercepted and latched her jaw onto the ridgeback's throat. Several shimmering blue scales dislodged and fell to the earth below. Furious, the plague dragon clawed at Quetzalchoatl's chest and sides. Quetzalchoatl screeched and disentangled herself from the ridgeback, revealing her blood soaked feathers. It occurred to the other three dragons to join in. Ewein zipped up to the ridgeback and nipped at the exposed flesh where Quetzalchoatl had removed her scales. An arm swatted him easily to the side and sent Ewein rushing to the ground. He stared at the fight taking place above him while bracing himself for the fast approaching dead field below. His world turned upside down, disorienting him further until he closed his outer eyelids. Then he felt something soft break his fall and his stomach turn as he was flown back to the heavens. Bylinda glanced at him from over her shoulder to where he lay on her back.

“You should sit this fight out, little one,” Bylinda suggested sweetly.

Ewein nodded in agreement and turned just in time to see Folant lock his jaws around the other ridgeback's neck. The ridgeback clawed fruitlessly at the air, screaming obscenities and thrashing her limbs viciously. In the blink of an outer eye, a gash opened up on the ridgeback's chest. At first Ewein didn't understand, but then he saw Quetzalchoatl soaring away. The gaping wound quickly rendered the plague dragon unconscious. Folant unhinged his jaws from her limp neck and let the body drop to the ground with a resonating thud. Immediately afterward, Quetzalchoatl flew back towards her clanmates.

“Let's move, there's no time to waste,” Quetzalchoatl said.

Ewein was fazed by the speed of the battle and how short it had been, but Bylinda followed after without hesitation. Ewein searched his brother's face to see how the battle had affected him. Folant was shocked by his powers, Ewein could tell.

As Quetzalchoatl took the lead, Ewein thought about – her. He thought about this young, joyless hatchling that wasted no time fooling around. Ewein found himself curious about how she was raised, and where. What had happened to Quetzalchoatl and Coaxoch that forced them to grow up so promptly?

The Starfall Isles came into sight sooner than Ewein had originally anticipated. The Starfall Isles, once glimmering shores and dotted islands, was now a skyline of peaks and rotating earth highlighted by magic. By the expressions of his clanmates, Ewein realized they had never been here before. But they didn't even reach Starwood Strand when they were apprehended by a group of arcane dragons.

The group consisted of three skydancers, two mirrors, and one imperial dragon. Ewein tensed, deformed eyes scanning the group for any intention of fighting, but they seemed friendly. When they were within range of Ewein and his three clanmates, the imperial hovered forward and spoke.

“We've been expecting you, friends,” He said with his voice vibrating deeply in his throat. “Come. The arcane flight awaits your proposition.”

***

Ewein sighed with contentment at the successful meeting earlier. He rolled on his back carelessly and looked at the sky from Starwood Strand. He couldn't stop himself from cracking a smile. To him, the Starwood Stand was like an infinite universe. Ewein closed his eyes and let it all wash over him. He could tell by the marks in the ground that it was a former shore-line, and as the waves rolled away years ago, they left behind trees that stretched heaven bound, growing taller than trees anywhere else. On a night such as this, they blossom to reveal millions of flowers twinkling like the many stars above them. When Ewein was here, he could feel inspiration and thought within him.

The crunching of footsteps alerted him to another's presence. Cautious, Ewein got to his feet. From behind the outstretched trees emerged a dragon with the likes of which he'd never seen. She was somewhere around the height of an average mirror dragon, perhaps bigger. Her limbs seemed short in comparison to her yellow, iridescent torso, and her blood red wings were the same size as her body from head to thin tail. Her underbelly had neat, ivory colored scales with some kind of fin-like material protruding along the center of it. She had a horned head and a single, nubby spike at the tip of her snout. As she got closer, her pink eyes glowed with fascination.

“Ewein, correct?” She asked.

“Yes,” Ewein confirmed.

“Your brother sent me.”

Ewein tilted his head in curiosity. “Folant? Why?”

“Well, simply put...I wanted to know if I could repay the four of you for what you've done here. All these new and positive changes are already doing the world wonders, so I figured I'd try and- reward you, I suppose.”

“So Folant sent you to me?” Ewein inquired.

“With an offering,” She nodded.

“And what would that be?”

“To change your face.”

Ewein's jaw fell open. He'd already considered asking one of the elders to help him, but this made it much easier. He didn't hesitate for a second to agree. The strange dragon smiled and came closer until she could reach out and touch his face. When she touched him a jolt of magic circulated through his body, a rippling sensation that started at the center of his left cheek and traveled to the tips of his wings. He jerked back.

“Whoa,” The strange dragon was just as caught off guard as he. “You are a shadow dragon, right?”

“Born and raised,” Ewein said blankly.

She reached for his face again. He stiffened, but didn't pull away. When she touched his face for a second time, there was no jolt, leaving him curious. She examined his scales, crooked jaw, jagged teeth, large fins, white eyes, and bare ear holes carefully. She traced the forming scar on his left outer eye lid gently.

“What caused this?” She asked, locking her pink eyes with his white ones.

“The scar? Heh, I'm surprised you could tell it apart from the rest of this mess,” Ewein half joked. “I fought a deathseeker.”

“A deathseeker,” It wasn't a question. “Were you after its orb?”

“Yes, and I have it. I don't have a use for it, though, so I was going to turn it into a necklace and give it to Quetzalchoatl,” Ewein said.

She didn't respond for awhile. She was mostly fascinated by the irregular pattern in his scales and the large structure of his fins. A few questions bubbled to the surface of his mind. How long would it take? Was it possible? What kind of dragon was she? Why hadn't he ask her name by now, at least? He was about to open his mouth to ask the latter, but she spoke before he could get a word out.

“A few minutes, it is possible to an extent, and I'm a nocturne born into the arcane flight like my father Rivalen before me,” She said.

Ewein paused, mystified. It was as if she could read his mind. Why then, didn't she answer his last question? Ewein searched her pink eyes for an answer, but she merely smiled. A breeze stirred the air, sending glowing flowers falling gently to the ground, surrounding them. Ewein was reminded of Wispwillow Grove and the beautiful fungus that grew there. Though he loved his home of The Tangled Wood, he had to admit, this was prettier by far. Here he could look up and see the moon and all the dazzling stars in the sky. The arcane dragons must feel like they're under the constant watch and protection of their god.

He snapped out of his trance when the nocturne's pink eyes glinted in the moonlight. She probably asked him a question or told him something. He shuffled in embarrassment.

“Could you repeat that?” Ewein asked.

“I didn't say anything,” She said with a smile.

“You didn't? Oh, I was zoning out, I thought that you...” He trailed off.

“You love magic, don't you?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Even though it disfigured your face?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really want me to change your face?”

He hesitated, though he couldn't say why. “Yes.”

She backed away. As she did, Ewein felt a shiver. He took as many steps forward as she did back without realizing what he was doing. She smiled at him. Then ran away. Surprised, Ewein chased after. Trees whizzed by as he let his wings carry him. On foot, he couldn't keep pace with the larger dragon's long strides, but in the air, his small body basically propelled him forward. The nocturne glanced back once or twice while running, telling Ewein that she wanted him to follow. They reached the shore-line where the Crystalspine Reaches were visible. The nocturne took a leaped as far as her hatchling legs could take her, spread her wings, and fell straight down. Panicked, Ewein dove head first for her, arms outstretched.

“What are you doing?” Ewein shouted over the fast approaching waves. “Where are you going!?”

Her pink eyes stared at him expectantly as she fell further downwards. Ewein folded his wings so tightly, he felt encased in stone, the sharp wind blowing fiercely against his sides. With the wind came the smell of saltwater, a smell that reminded him of his recent fight with the deathseeker, causing his eye to throb with the memory. Ewein rapidly shook his head; now was not the time to get distracted by intrusive thoughts. He gradually reached the dragon's side. He extended his hand, briefly wondered if she was a dragon species that could swim, then grabbed her.

His arm was nearly jerked out of its socket when she unfolded her wings. Almost as rapidly as they had been falling, the nocturne's wings shot them sky-high, out of range of the ocean's grasping waves. She didn't release his arm, instead she spun him around so they were both spinning in a graceful spiral towards the magically floating rocks above. Ewein instantly felt dizzy, and then she stopped.

“What was that all about?” Ewein demanded, still dazed.

“You'll understand in the future,” She basically hummed.

“Hey, another thing I want to know is-”

“Watch out!”

Ewein's head slammed against the side of a floating rock, crumbling the rock into pieces and temporarily blinding him in his one good eye. At this point Ewein was wondering how he hadn't gone blind in either eye, considering the things that have happened. The nocturne was smiling again, and even though his skull was still buzzing with the impact of the rock, Ewein found her smile pleasant.

“Make sure you don't hit your head on these upcoming rocks,” She warned. “Those will kill you until you die.”

Ewein laughed out loud, taken off guard by her sudden sense of humor. “We wouldn't want that, would we?”

She laughed with him and flapped her wings harder, taking them upward. Ewein reflected on her strength. There was no doubt in his mind that if he had tried to make this flight, he would have fallen halfway up. He was aware that as a fae, he was smaller and weaker than all other dragon species physically, but even in magic, he had the impression that this dragon was stronger.

And then they were there. The Observatory.

“The Arcanist is supposed to be inside. Scribbling forbidden words on old parchment with a thousand dead tongues to speak of his work,” She said, sitting down in front of the large, golden observatory.

“Your deity locks himself away?” Ewein asked, sitting next to her. “Our deity stays out in pretty much open area where anyone can go see her. I've never met her, but the leaders say she's like the mother of every shadow. That makes us her shadow children.”

“Are you fond of the darkness that surrounds your home?” Her pink eyes twinkled with curiosity. “I'd imagine that kind of existence becomes miserable after a while. What do you do in an environment where everyone's goal is to be evil and deceptive?”

“Its a rare occurrence when a shadow dragon tricks another shadow dragon, unless its a harmless prank. Unless...”

“Unless what?”

“Unless they're my uncle Gluarung.”

“Oh? Elaborate please.”

“He has a fire dragon and a plague dragon as minions, and he used them to kill my great grandmother- the clan leader. He also personally killed my grandfather in a fight. But he didn't die during the fight, he died several days after of brain and spinal damage, and I think Glaurung did it that way on purpose. I wasn't born back then, my mother and uncle were just hatchlings, but I've heard the pearlcatchers talking about it. I heard- Oh, sorry, I'm starting to rant.”

“That's fine,” She laid down into a more comfortable position. “Tell me more.”

“I heard that my grandfather was the runt of the clan. He couldn't fight, couldn't hunt, and rarely spoke. After my grandmother had two eggs with him, plague dragons raided, and he left her to fend for herself. That's when my uncle Nidhug took the role as their father, my grandfather was exiled, came back, and was killed by Glaurung.”

“Sounds awful.”

“I guess the clan was different back then.”

“Where is Gluarung now?”

“Training a massive army of blood thirsty dragons of all shapes, sizes, and elements over at The Ashfall Waste. He's taken some of my clanmates hostage as well, that's why my mother is temporary leader and I'm her kind of assistant.”

There was a silence. He didn't attempt to break it, because it gave him time to agnize how terrible his clan's life was. Then he realized he hadn't checked on his clanmates in a while. Before he could focus his energy, an image of Izzak appeared in his brain. Why hadn't he thought of that pearlcatcher until now? Ewein adjusted the thought of Izzak in his head, then let the magic work its...magic. He was taken to Foxfire Bramble. Needless to say, the image was completely pitch black save for a few faint outlines of thorns and a few specks of blood red wings. So he'd been living in The Tangled Wood the whole time?

He fell over as the nocturne pushed him playfully.

“You were gone for awhile there,” She said.

“How long?” Ewein asked.

“Half an hour.”

“You just waited that whole time?”

“I was intrigued, I'll admit. Its amazing how much magic you can channel through your mind alone. Be careful, though, those kinds of acts will wear your mind down.”

“Agave told me similarly. So did Quetzalchoatl, on multiple occasions. I ignored their advice, and now I'm only stronger.”

“Interesting. Regarding this Quetzalchoatl- who is she to you?”

“She's a really uptight shadow dragon that lived with her adopted sister and cranky old earth dragon in the mountains.”

“Ah.”

“How'd you know she was a female? I didn't specify, and Quetzalchoatl is commonly a male name.”

“You stated that you were planning on giving her a Seeker Broach. Those are usually given to significant others, so I assumed.”

“Do I look like someone who would have a significant other? Look at my face and tell me honestly. Wait, about my face, weren't you going to fix that?”

“Weren't you still deciding whether or not you want me to?”

Ewein thought about that. Slowly, the sun began to rise as he prodded his thoughts. His face had become a part of his identity. When he thought about it, he should have received a much harder time about his appearances, but those around him were decently respectful. Did strangers see him and assume that he earned his deformities through some tough war? There was a pleasant thought. He glanced up at the nocturne, then stumbled backwards. She was in close quarters, staring him down with those pink eyes of her as the rising sun caught in her yellow, iridescent scales, making her appear to be a sun herself.

“You seem to have come to a decision. Maybe now you'd like to ask me another question that's been on your mind?” She smiled.

“Um, yes,” He nodded. “What's...what's your name?”

“Chusi,” Her smile radiated brighter than the sun behind her. “A pleasure to meet you.”


	19. Chapter 19

It was only a matter of time before the new alliance went to fight. Through the events of uniting the shadow and arcane flight, Ewein was recognized as the leader of his clan. Some dragons even went as far as to call him the leader of both flights. It was a responsibility Ewein didn't want to bear. As he looked out at the vast expanse of various lands from The Observatory, he realized that he was a target amongst all of them, save for two. Every dragon that heard of his deed would seek him out, either in friendship, or in hostility. It was amazing how quickly a tiny monstrosity such as him could rise to fame and regard.

“There you are,” Came Quetzalchoatl's voice. “You've heard, haven't you? We fight today. Stop daydreaming.”

“Who's leading the assault?” Ewein asked without turning.

“One of the clan leaders is leading the arcane dragons to the border of The Windswept Plateau and the Sea of a Thousand Currents. Sylwia is leading the shadow flight to the same place. From there, we rush The Ashfall Waste. That is- if you'd get up.”

Ewein got to his feet and followed Quetzalchoatl off the edge of the floating rock. As they glided gently downwards, it occurred to Ewein that he may never be able to fly that high again. Clouds swished and swirled around them as the air currents rippled off the two dragons' wings. Ewein tried to immerse himself in the environment and not think about the impending battle that awaited him. For whatever reason, this made him think of Agave. How was she holding up back at The Tangled Wood? Ewein checked.

Agave was stealthily creeping at the edge of The Wandering Contagion with the rest of the shadow flight. Ewein marveled at his brothers and sisters of darkness as they crept past clan after clan without arousing a peep of suspicion from locals. It was almost as if they didn't exist.

“Watch where you’re going, fool!” Quetzalchoatl's shriek cut through Ewein's focus.

He returned just in time to get a face full of bark. He instinctively clung to it to avoid falling and further injuring himself. The tall trees of The Starwood Strand had nearly impaled him in his daze. He really needed to do something about his tendency to lose himself in thoughts. He heard some laughter from the arcane dragons below him, but they were chided into silence by their clanmates. An annoyed Quetzalchoatl hovered next to his tree.

“If you're done making a worse mess of your face,” She hissed sternly. “Join the ranks.”

At the front of the assembled dragons, an imperial dragon was giving orders. From his position at the back, Ewein couldn't hear anything he was saying. When he tried to get closer, Quetzalchoatl held him back, telling him that dragons specialized in magic stay in the rear. Ewein waited somewhat impatiently, trying not to zone out as the imperial blathered on. There was no way anyone else in the back could hear what he was saying, Ewein thought with a sigh. Just when he started to lose himself in thoughts of the future battle and what could go wrong, the imperial signaled the army to move forward.

Since they had to make up for the time they wasted, the arcane flight traveled by air. For this, Ewein was grateful, because otherwise he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep up. Out of nowhere, he got a rush. Here he was, a deformed shadow hatchling from a broken clan, flying among the second largest flight of the land. They made sounds like thunder as each individual stretched their wings over the vast sky, casting the land below them in shadow. Familiars and beastclan members scurried into their hiding places as the massive army flew overhead. Not even the wind defied the flight, instead it carried them gladly towards their destination, as if to avoid their attention.

Ewein felt immensely proud of what he had accomplished. He'd done the impossible; he united two flights together, in peace. Now all he could hope for was to avoid trouble from other flights, but judging by the ease at which they passed territory after territory, Ewein was nearly positive that wouldn't be a problem.

It wasn't long until the water and wind border came into sight. The shadow flight was already waiting. Ewein's excitement bubbled at the thought of reuniting with his clanmates, but Quetzalchoatl seemed to know what he was thinking, and gave him a stern glower. He needed to keep his position within the arcane ranks. Sylwia and the imperial dragon exchanged brief words, and then organized a battle tactic within minutes. It was swift work, unlike the performance Ewein had witnessed prior to this one. Ewein started feeling nervous out of the blue. He knew what a battle meant, he'd been in one before, but he had a feeling that this one would be much worse than anything he could mentally or physically prepare for.

The entire joined army took flight. Only a few minutes ago Ewein thought he heard the loudest sound in the world, but this proved him otherwise. The sound of each dragon pounding their wings and rocketing into the now damp and windy air was indescribable. The flying was so intense that fae and spiral dragons had to hitch a ride on stronger dragons' backs. Ewein closed his inner eye to protect himself from all variety of dirt and bugs flailing out of control. He heard Quetzalchoatl hiss. Turning, Ewein saw that she was struggling, but refused any help. Since she was relatively nearby, Ewein decided to attempt to talk to her. Of course, as soon as he opened his crooked mouth, all his words were lost to the wings of the dragons around him.

Then Ewein had an idea. What if he could communicate with magic? He'd spent a lot of time with magic users within his clan, and even some from the arcane flight, but none of them had ever talked about mental communication via magic. He concentrated. He figured he should try imagining Quetzalchoatl receiving his thoughts, or perhaps thinking of a regular conversation would do it. He scrunched his face up, trying to block out the sounds that were pounding into his small skull. Ewein abruptly felt a vast absence of thought, then a voice.

“What was that!?” Demanded an echoing voice in the emptiness.

“Quetzalchoatl?” Ewein thought uncertainly.

“Ewein? How'd you- what are you doing? What's happening right now?”

“Um, telepathy? It’s really cool, now that I think of it. How many dragons do you think can actually-”

“Get out of my head, Ewein! You had no permission!”

“But I need to tell you something first. If you keep this up, you'll be exhausted by the time we reach the battlefield.”

“I've dealt with worse. I can handle anything these adults can. Now, get out of my mind!”

A rush of thoughts returned as the mental link was severed. Again, Ewein wondered what tales Quetzalchoatl had to tell. He had to remember to ask her once they returned to The Tangled Wood. Naturally, the next thing Ewein wanted to do was talk to his mother with his newly discovered magic, but then it happened. Across the dry, volcanic lands, a roar cut through the air. Even during the flight of 43,000 dragons, it found its way into each ear.

Suddenly the war was upon them. There were no other warning signs as thousands of dragons rained down from the clouds and attacked the untied dragon army below. Shrieks and hollers emitted from the arcane and shadow dragons as the first wave landed a critical hit to each intended target. The fae and spiral dragons that had been hitching a ride launched off into battle, biting and clawing the enemy dragons ferociously. Ewein was about to do the same as the other dragons, when he heard Quetzalchoatl's voice pierce through his mind.

“There's one above you!”

He darted away from the guardian dragon he'd been standing on. A ridgeback swooped down and locked the guardian’s throat in her jaws. Ewein folded his wings in preparation to charge her, but one effortless twist of her head snapped the guardian’s neck. Shocked, Ewein hesitated, and immediately paid for it. A blast of fire scorched his back and wings. He couldn't hold himself back; he let out a long squeal of agony. He knew his wings were gone when he started falling. The air felt hotter in an instant as hundreds of dragons started belching fire at one another. Ewein thought that he would be allowed to fall to his death, but his attacker was merciless, just like all the other enemy dragons. Another bout of fire engulfed Ewein in flame, and everything went black.

***

“Ewein. Ewein, I need you to focus. Don't try to open your eyes.” A mystical voice sounded in his ears, warm and flowing like a gentle wind.

“...”

“Ewein, I need you to think. Remember the battlefield.”

He did, and then urgency hit him like a storm on a sail.

“Don't try to get up,” The voice rang like little chimes. “Just picture it. The field. Quetzalchoatl. The dead guardian. Can you see it?”

After spending nearly every waking hour practicing, the image came to him straightaway. The war was still raging, 70,000 against 43,000 strong. As expected, the arcane and shadow flights were losing. It hadn't even occurred to Ewein who they were really fighting until now. Or perhaps it was too obvious who it was. Gluarung had terrorized the fire flight for long enough.

“Good. Now hold in that resentment. You need to save it.”

“Who are you?”

“Look for your brother.”

“Folant?”

“You know who I'm referring to.”

Indeed he did. Before he even thought of saying Folant, the image of Anarawd was already playing.

“You know what to do, Ewein.”

He woke with a start. All the calm and quiet ended like a rock smashing through a window. All the chaos and suffering around him resumed from where he last remembered. He was raw and stung all over, and the fabrics between his wings were incinerated. Nonetheless, Ewein got up on painful legs and searched for Anarawd, who was fortunately close. His brother, though he could be insensitive, had been one of his best friends until recently. It couldn't be helped, he knew; Anarawd had chosen to lead this assault.

Looking at Anarawd now, in full bronze armor and attacking his fellow dragons of the shadows, Ewein could barely recognize him. He seemed so much bigger than his tiny fae body somehow and there was definitely a sense of maturity about him that a hatchling could only gain through battle. Ewein dodged the corpses falling from the sky and the blasts of magic being released by dragons wild with bloodlust as he approached his brother. He was about to call out, but realized that his words would be drowned out by the battlefield already filled with voices crying for help. Instead, he used his new telepathy. It was the same as before, only this time Ewein had to block out the pain in his body as well. Despite that, linking to Anarawd’s mind was even easier than it had been to link to Quetzalchoatl’s mind. Perhaps this was because he was family.

“Brother,” Ewein called in the blackness of his mind.

“What is happening?” Anarawd demanded. “Ewein? Is that you? No...Whatever is going on, I don’t like it!”

“Calm down, it’s only me,” Ewein reassured him. “I’ve been training my mind. You seem to have been training your body.”

“...If this is you, Ewein, I’m sorry,” His voice didn’t sound regretful. “I had to do this for me. Do you understand?”

“No.”

“There’s no future for our clan or any other flight. Gluarung is going to destroy everyone, save for a few shadow-born. We all know this. I’d rather help slaughter the enemy flights and live in peace with shadow dragons than break my back saving dragons doomed to fight for all eternity.”

“What do you mean? Gluarung is killing shadow dragons, too!”

“Only the ones he left behind. The ones he trained – me, for example – will be able to live in peace. No more fighting other flights, or disputing with other clans, or killing within our own families!”

“...You do realize Gluarung killed our great grandfather, don’t you...?”

Anarawd suddenly severed their connection. Ewein opened his eyes and glanced around his surroundings. Bodies were piled all around him, and there was much more fighting on the ground, now that a lot of dragons apparently had their wings ripped out of their sockets. Anarawd was standing in front of him. His brother glared at him with such bristling hostility, for a moment, Ewein felt paralyzed. Was history about to repeat itself? Was Ewein going to be the new Attor, and Anarawd the new Gluarung?

“I know this is wrong,” Anarawd’s voice brought Ewein out of his terrified thoughts. “But what choice do I have? I’m a nobody in our clan. Family doesn’t mean anything. Even being a shadow dragon has lost its meaning, especially with what Gluarung has been doing. At least here, I know I will find a peaceful end.”

“Anarawd, you don’t have to go looking for an end,” Anarawd consoled. “You-“

“And if I’m being honest with you, brother,” Anarawd gave an uncertain smile. “I really like hurting these dragons.”

Ewein didn’t know what to say. He’d definitely seen the things his brother had done and the way he reacted, but it was strange hearing it from his mouth. Ewein shook his head and took a step forward. His brother’s weak smile turned into a menacing scowl.

“You’re my brother,” Ewein said firmly. “Gluarung tarnished the value of family within our clan, but we can be the ones to restore it. Think about Uncle Ludwik.”

Anarawd shot forward. All the blood drained from Ewein’s face and his stomach dropped. He thought for sure he was going to puke right before his last moments...Until he realized Anarawd hadn’t struck him. Ewein felt a body sag onto him from behind, and from the corner of his eye he could make out the head of a dead dragon, pink arcane eyes distant and cloudy. Anarawd was by his ear.

“When the field clears and the roars fade,” He whispered. “I’ll be the one standing over Gluarung’s body, you can trust me.”

He took off into the sky with a battle cry and continued to fight for Gluarung’s side. Ewein hoped this meant Anarawd was going to stab Gluarung in the back when his guard was down. Yes...Anarawd was only doing this to gain their great uncle’s trust. Ewein would just have to believe that. He heard someone scream his name. The awareness of his surroundings boosted tenfold as he swung his head around to seek out the source. It was Agave.

She was wounded, just like everyone else, a limp in her step. Her eyes were wide with terror as she hobbled frantically towards Ewein. A lightning tundra dragon was crawling behind her, its wings and back legs gone, yet its bloodlust drove it forward to kill one last opponent before its end came. Ewein inhaled deeply, took aim, and fired a jet of flame into the tundra’s face. It slowed down ever so slightly; Agave dashed past and behind him, trembling. A massive hand came down on him, but Ewein was light on his feet, and dodged. He let loose a wide fan of fire on his enemy. This time, the thick fur on the dragon burned off, revealing its blistering pink skin. It collapsed within moments, wheezing out haggard sighs before its body finally stopped twitching.

No time to rest. Ewein yanked Agave by the arm and guided her through the battlefield. Now that he was up close, he could see that it was her right back leg that was injured, but not enough to stop her from running for her life. It occurred to Ewein that this battle could last for days. Perhaps not with the rate at which dragons were dying, but once the weaker ones die, the relentless ones will be all that’s left. There’s no telling how long they would be willing to fight, especially given how long that tundra with no wings or back legs lasted.

“I didn’t think Gluarung would bring his whole army through here,” Agave commented as she limped next to Ewein. “Do you think Gluarung himself is here?”

Without thinking, Ewein started to check, forgetting momentarily that his visions sometimes took hours at a time. He tripped and sent both Agave and himself tumbling down a slope of dead bodies. Disgusted, Ewein jumped to his feet and tried to shake the sleek blood off his scales. Agave didn’t bother trying to clean her feathers; they were already soaked in her own blood, anyway.

“Blood doesn’t come off that easily,” A familiar voice said.

Ewein and Agave glanced up to see Izzak staring at them. Uncertain on how to receive the banished clanmate, Ewein bristled a little. Agave followed his lead. But Izzak only smiled in the wispy way that shadow dragons do. He inclined his head towards the sky.

“They’re going to retreat soon,” Izzak said matter-of-factly.

“…who?” Ewein prompted.

“Both of you. No one saw this coming, the losses are staggering, and they only rise.”

“And whose side are you on?” Ewein demanded, weary but set on making sure he at least appeared in control.

“I’m in exile, I have no side. I never joined another clan.”

“That’s just a dodgy half-answer!”

“Not untrue however, I don’t have an alliance - strictly speaking. But if it makes you feel any better…I’d like to help you, Ewein.”

Ewein was about to respond, when Agave tugged at his side. He glanced at her questioningly. Without saying a word, Agave pointed at something in Izzak’s direction, presumably behind him. Izzak himself followed her gesture, and then stiffened. What Ewein saw made his legs go soft. Franciszka had just landed there, looking hollow and weary. His eyes bore right through his brother, who was now shuffling nervously. Ewein could feel Agave tense up, like she could barely hold herself back from running to her father’s side, but she knew better. Franciszka came – whether he wanted to or not – on Gluarung’s side. Ewein would like to believe that dragons forced under Gluarung’s wing would turn on him during the chaos, but he’d already seen Lapis- his own father- taking out shadow dragons, so he wasn’t ruling Franciszka out. The fear of Gluarung ran deeper than family roots.

“Izzak,” Franciszka greeted dully.

“Franciszka,” Izzak returned the same greeting awkwardly.

Agave’s eyes flicked desperately back and forth between her father and her uncle, searching for some kind of sign that perhaps they could work together. But Ewein didn’t bother hoping. His clan was broken. Agave’s family was broken. And broken ties of broken ties aren’t the best recipe for forgiveness. Still, Franciszka seemed hesitant to attack, he hadn’t thrown his morals to the side as all the others did. His gaze shifted towards Ewein.

“Hatchling, don’t lose face,” Franciszka said.

It then occurred to Ewein that Franciszka had been looking into the future.

“What have you seen?” Ewein asked eagerly, despite himself. The arcane dragons had foresight as well, but the entire flight was far stricter on the telling of future sightings. In fact, none of them actively sought out to see the future, and none would inform Ewein even if he asked. But Franciszka?

“Ewein, it’s not what you want to hear,” He warned gravely. “You’re…We’re going to be here awhile. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be…quick.”

“Don’t be vague!”

“I’m sorry. Just know that you will know what to do. Have patience, but not for him.”

“What does that mean?” Agave chimed in.

The entire battlefield was engulfed in shadows. Instinctively, the four dragons looked up. Above them was a sky of bleeding dragons, soaring in a spiral formation as other retreating dragons joined their ranks. It had to be Gluarung’s forces. The sun was obscured by the massive bodies, and for a moment, the battle paused. Ewein turned to Franciszka expectantly. Surprisingly, Franciszka seemed…softer. The young dragon wore a relieved expression. Then, out of the blue, Franciszka stepped forward and nuzzled his brother. Startled, Izzak took a few retreating motions, and then stopped.

“Fortune was in our favor,” Franciszka sighed happily.

Needless to say, everyone witnessing this display was confused. However, Ewein felt like he didn’t need to understand to feel the same sense of relief wash over him as Gluarung’s army retreated, while Franciszka stayed in place. Without wasting another moment, Agave rushed forward and nuzzled at the legs of her father and uncle. Franciszka scooped her up. Then he held her like a hatchling. He held her for the first time since her banishment from the dragon lair. A certain pain crept over Ewein’s heart as he watched the family. He wanted his father. He wanted his uncle. He wanted his brother.

He just wanted these wars to end.

***

Sylwia did a head count and welcomed each member of the clan back warmly. All across the Mirrorlight Promenade, clan leaders were gathered, with long lines of dragons that corresponded with their flight waiting to be accounted for. Just outside the hallway, countless other leaders were gathered, since there were hundreds of clans per each flight. The lines had been a bit chaotic and restless at first, but the light dragons helped soothe injured and disoriented dragons, while guiding younger dragons to their clan lines. From The Beacon of the Radiant Eye, the light dragons had seen the fierce battle take place, and then intercepted the retreating shadow and arcane dragons on their way back to their territories. The light dragons offered their alliance. Currently, each arcane and shadow clan leader was counting their losses, while those who were finished were already discussing their next action plan.

Ewein was upset that Sylwia was the one he came to for the head count. Though he was overjoyed that his mother was safe and well, he’d been hoping that he’d see Chumana or Nidhug back at their leader position. Either they hadn’t arrived yet, or they were still with Gluarung. Since Ewein was too tired to check, he would just assume it was the latter. He sighed indiscreetly. Folant stiffened next to him.

“Is it Anarawd?” Folant asked quietly.

“Grandma and uncle Nidhug,” Ewein corrected despondently.

“Don’t worry, my son,” Sylwia interrupted her counting to address her sad hatchlings’ worries. “We’ll see them again. Why don’t you two run off and play a little while? You shouldn’t have to be concerned about things like this.”

“I want to see who comes back,” Ewein responded, shaking his head slowly. “I have to know.”

“I saw your father fly in on my way here,” Chusi added gently as she happened to pass by.

Ewein shot up and ran to her side. Folant followed at his own pace, saying a goodbye before leaving Sylwia to her job. Ewein focused all his attention on the yellow dragon he was walking besides, intent on not letting his mind wander. First thing was first.

“My father is alive and here,” Ewein began seriously.

“Yes,” Chusi’s voice rang like chimes.

Ewein didn’t respond and he didn’t take his eyes off her as they padded down the Sunbeam Ruins. Folant was becoming increasingly awkward while trailing behind them, uncertain as to whether or not he should keep following or let the two dragons walk in peace. Ewein didn’t pay him any mind. His deformed claws were full of leaves within seconds of walking outside; autumn was approaching. Chusi noticed this and gave a light-hearted laugh, for she could tell that his focus was slipping. He couldn’t quite read her, so he decided to speak.

“It had to be you,” Ewein didn’t mean to sound so forceful.

Chusi’s smile faded away. She glanced at Folant slowly, and then gave him questioning eyes. Ewein nodded, he wanted to talk about it, regardless of his brother’s presence.

“On the battlefield,” She said. “When you fell, it was my voice you heard.”

“I never told you about Anarawd, did I?” Ewein eyed her. “How did you know who he was?”

“I doubt you really want to talk about him right now.”

Ewein paused, almost offended by her assumption, until he realized she was right. Constantly trying to stay on top of everything and understand why things happen, where they happen, when they happen, and if they’ll happen- it was exhausting. He just wanted to lie down…but wasn’t that the mistake that his grandfather Attor had made? He sighed.


	20. Chapter 20

One year. It had only been one year. In that time, the nature, lightning, and ice flights had joined the alliance between the arcane, shadow, and light flights. A year ago the lightning flight had been ruthlessly fighting for dominance every week, invading territories and stealing resources. Ewein had never hated a flight more. But now he couldn’t imagine a life without their alliance. The other flights had become like family, though they in no way could replace his blood related family. He had stopped checking on Anarawd a few months ago; he didn’t want to see what he’d become. Izzak returned to the clan soon after the first clash with Gluarung. Nidhug had been successfully rescued from the clutches of Gluarung’s army, along with Kinga and Pandora. Ludwik was still unfortunately held hostage, and Chumana was dead.  
The clan didn’t have time to mourn when she died, and while it was clear Nidhug wanted to take time to himself, he fiercely insisted on getting back in charge and moving the clan forward. The presence of an official leader, the return of Pandora, and the touching reunion with Kinga and Blue had been uplifting for the clan. So Ewein held back his grief for the time being and put on a strong face for clanmates. Especially Chusi. The nocturne dragon had been an extreme comfort to him the past several months and they planned to have hatchling of their own. Needless to say, she was firmly a part of the clan now. In the meanwhile, Quetzalchoatl brought hatchlings of her own. Three girls: Adelinda, a fae of white and gold who was born early, but strong. Ethelinda, a fae of white, grey, and sea foam green, the biggest of the clutch but with the sweetest heart. And Melinda, a fae of magenta, with wings the color of blood that looked to be specked with rust. Quetzalchoatl refused to reveal the father, but Ewein knew. He could sense that they were related to him by blood, and he could see the resemblance of Anarawd in all of them. He had no idea how or why or when it happened, but he refrained from asking as it was clear she wouldn’t tell him anyways. Despite the circumstance and Ewein’s current feelings towards his brother, the love he felt for the three hatchlings was intense; he protected them fiercely since the moment they were born and taught them all he knew. Melinda even shared his incredible knack for magic. He wanted them to live long and happy, without being plagued by the trauma of war and broken family.  
Ewein’s nieces made good friends with Pandora’s four new hatchlings, quadruplet sisters consisting of two pearlcatchers and two skydancers. They were named Quat, Cuat, Qwat, and Kwat. They were born at The Ashfall Waste, so Ewein assumed their names were made into some cruel joke by one of Gluarung’s soldiers. However, Pandora wouldn’t say anything about the origin of their names. Kinga and Blue had a single hatchling, Shuman, a grey and green spiral dragon. For the sake of these eight hatchlings and his own future ones, Ewein planned to put an end to Gluarung’s reign of terror as soon as possible. For Eiko, who had been murdered by Vritra. For Attor, who had been crippled by Gluarung and suffered until his quiet death. For Chumana, who died almost unnoticed in the midst of a battlefield she desperately didn’t want to be a part of. For his mother and uncle, who were now orphans.  
He was bumped out of his thoughts by Awotwi, a wildclaw dragon from the nature flight who had very recently joined the clan. Ewein hadn’t known him long, but found the dragon very charismatic. Awotwi was about the same age as Ewein’s mother, Sylwia. After snapping him out of his thoughts, Awotwi informed him that it was time to rendezvous with the other five flights. The entire shadow flight was currently departing for The Sunbeam Ruins and Nidhug didn’t want to be left behind to travel alone. As Ewein stepped out of the dragon lair, he saw the eight hatchlings scurry out of the nesting grounds under Belinda’s watchful eye. They had so much energy and hope, and for that, Ewein was grateful. Tanit stumbled into him, and then anxiously apologized. The black and white wildclaw was looking more nervous than ever before. Ewein tried his best to reassure his friend that everything would be fine, and then guided her by the arm to the rest of the clan. That’s where Chusi fell to his side silently. She was deep in thought, so he didn’t disturb her, but having her walking besides him was a great comfort. He reflected on how this wasn’t even the march to battle, but dismissed all thoughts and focused on walking in a group with his clan. Chusi was on his left side, Tanit was on his right, and the hatchlings were tripping up in the bog, but thanks to Belinda, they stayed at a good pace and always within sight of the rest of the clan.  
They passed through the Foxfire Bramble and as they went they were slowly joined by other clans, one by one. Behind them the distinct sound of a thunder of dragons picked up. When Ewein turned to look, he saw the arcane flight coming up on their rear in one moment, and then they were among them in the next. The arcane flight and the shadow flight didn’t stay in their own groups like they used to; as soon as the arcane flight landed next to them they merged together, greeting close friends among the other clans. It still made Ewein happy to see the warm comradery between so many dragons; it gave him hope for the future. His only fear was that the hostilities and competition would begin again once their common enemy was gone.  
***  
He desperately tried to remember how to breathe. Ewein’s vision was a blur of flashing red flames and glittering scales soaked in crimson. He tried to kick his legs but only one would move, the others were crushed under something or someone. It was mostly red, everything was red, it breathed red it ran red and he couldn’t flee. The weight was removed, he didn’t know why and he didn’t care, he got up. His thoughts were going a million miles an hour but he couldn’t process a single one. His legs started to carry him somewhere; he hoped they knew somewhere safe. The only thing he could comprehend was a cold stone of dread sinking into the pit of his stomach as a wave of sickness rose to his throat. He collapsed before he could take two steps. He couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t he breathe?  
Then his vision went dark, and an overwhelming sense of anxiety came over him because if there was one thing that could not leave his mind it was the instinctual knowledge that had been ingrained in him after a year of battle; if he passed out, he would die. His vision came back again, and with it his hearing returned; he was suddenly aware of the dragons around him screeching. His hearing was quickly muffled and replaced with ringing as someone whacked him across the head. He fell down, or he thought he fell down. His brain told him to move but his muscles no longer complied.  
Nothing had prepared Ewein for this. He thought he knew what he was getting into, that the battles and the alliances had prepared him for the all out war with Gluarung’s army, but it didn’t. There were too many variables; dragons from Gluarung’s side broke rank and dragons from the Alliance’s side broke rank. Why did Ewein think he would be able to tell them apart? Clans, flights, Gluarung or Alliance, it was impossible to tell. Of course the Alliance had made a symbol to wear to avoid this very conflict, but when each side is fighting with fire, it doesn’t stay intact very long. Besides, some dragons who were wearing the symbol turned on their fellow alliance members. Did that mean that all these dragons were just cutting into each other without being sure? The only clear targets were the one’s everyone knew; the clan representatives and Gluarung. Even though Nidhug had returned, Ewein was recognized as the representative of both his clan and the shadow flight in the eyes of the other dragons. Which made this battle that much harder. The leaders of the light and ice flight were already dead. He didn’t know about the other three, but if he could just keep himself alive until someone got to Gluarung…  
Ewein felt a presence over him, covering his body. He flinched, until he realized the dragon was protecting him from some force that he was too disorientated to see. The dragon tried to communicate something to him, but Ewein could only process blurs of color and muffled screams. The dragon lasted much longer than Ewein thought they would; his senses started to return to him, first his sight and sound, then the sensations in his limbs. When the dragon sensed his slight recovery, they grabbed Ewein by the neck with their jaws and sprinted towards cover.  
“You know you can’t die yet, right?” A ridiculously cheerful voice inquired.  
Ewein looked at the dragon that he felt a sudden attachment to, for his life quite literally depended on them. To his surprise, it was Grzegorz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, as you've probably guessed, is unfinished. As I had been writing this chapter, I decided that I was unsatisfied with the events of the story after Attor's death in chapter 9, and went back to rewrite it from that point. This basically means the current canon of the story follows a completely different narrative. I'll be posting that story as a separate work.


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